Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age
by Nehszriah
Summary: One character that should have died lived instead and the greatest pirate crew never came to be. What happens twenty years after the legacy of the Straw Hat refuses to die with Luffy. No porn. Rated M for violence, cursing and mature themes.
1. What Never Should Have Been

Finally, a Mature rated fiction that will, hopefully, be rated Mature because of violence and mature themes, not pornography. I've seen too many good fictions go bad that way, no offence. Please review. Sometimes it's the only thing that keeps me going. I do not own _One Piece_. Thanks to _**Sacred Sakura **_and to _**Solo Loco Ellingston Rose **_for previewing the first four chapters. I needed that. Updates will only come with reviews.

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**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Prologue: _What Never Should Have Been_

A stocky man of about twenty-seven sat alone in a wooden room, the door behind him shut tight. He stared at the open journal before him, the pages crisp, fresh and unmarred by ink. Absentmindedly, he played with the end of his straw-colored ponytail as he thought of what he could write. The first page was always crucial. After a while, he adjusted the spectacles so that they sat on the bridge of his nose and took his pen to the clean paper.

"_Ambition_," he wrote. "_The Logbook of the Mugiwara Kaizokudan and their Adventures_."

The man looked over the words again as the room rocked back and forth gently, the waves outside bobbing the ship in the light thundershower that was directly overhead. He turned the page and began writing again.

"_Log Date: Year of the Sea, 1542 July 9_

"_Twenty years ago, the world fell into darkness. The World Government, the force that once so graciously protected the citizens of the Five Seas from chaos and anarchy, fell to the hands of the Revolutionaries, a group that at first was welcomed, but quickly scorned. Pirates of the worst kind wreaked havoc on the islands of the world, destroying families, homes and businesses. Things were bleak for everyone. Families split apart and children went without their parents. People starved through the chaos. Madness overwhelmed the world, first in the Grand Line and eventually spreading to the other Seas throughout the years, first the South and West, then the North and East._

"_That was when the Mugiwara Kaizokudan was first formed. Inspired by the defiant and carefree actions of a pirate that had been executed before her eyes as a small child, a young woman of roughly twenty-one called 'Mugiwara' Rika set sail from her home of Shell Town in the East Blue in search of nakama with enough heart and drive to bring into the light the pirates of her childhood; those that could even at times be considered 'kind'. She wore the straw hat of the man who inspired her, in order to keep his dreams alive as well. It was her dream to find One Piece and as King of the Pirates, bring peace to the world._

"_While sailing, Rika discovered a dinghy in the water, carrying three men just a few years older than herself. The men were all unconscious and barely alive. She boarded their craft and quickly found an island where she nursed them back to health. The three men were eternally in her debt and joined as the first of her crew. Piiman had always wanted to become a master carpenter, yet had settled for becoming a deadly shot. Ninjin had dreamed of opening his own tavern, yet was instead resigned to martial arts in order to stay alive. I, Tamanegi, have achieved the closest thing to my original dream as possible: I had wanted to write novels and am now a chronicler. We three were the only survivors left in an attack on the East Blue village of Syrup; some of the cruelest type of pirates ravaging our hometown and killing the young man who we idolized as one who was going to become a great and honorable pirate himself. It was a godsend that our paths had crossed with Rika's. We four swore allegiance to one another, sealing the first pact._

"_A few years passed and we drifted all about the East Blue. None of us knew how to navigate properly. Piiman could lead us from island to island in excellent weather, but we were often plagued by bouts of storms. One day, the latest boat that we had unfortunately stolen was tossed about inside one of the largest squalls any of us had ever seen. We were shipwrecked on a rocky isle, this time Rika being the one who almost failed to survive, as she was knocked unconscious upon hitting the water. Ninjin was forced to carry her as Piiman and I scouted the path up ahead. We came upon a solitary shack, occupied by a dying old man and two men two years older than myself. They were half-starved as well as threadbare, so we shared what provisions we had been able to salvage from the shipwreck. They were thankful and allowed us into the house._

"_The old man was named Genzo and he was once the mayor of one of the island's villages. Fishmen pirates had taken over the island, destroying the people and even sending the island's best cartographer to her untimely grave. All the other humans that had once lived on the island were long dead, save for Genzo and the two young men. Chabo had been made an orphan by the Fishmen's ferocious attacks. Kappa was actually a refugee from the Grand Line, his face lined with a gaunt sort of realization of the world. When Rika awoke in the morning, the old man's corpse was laying in state and the rest of us were ready for action. After burning the shack, the six of us made way for Arlong Park. That was where we men proved our mettle and Rika demonstrated that she was more than a mere woman. It turned out that she had a Devil's Fruit ability. She pulled invisible wires in the air, jerking the movements of the living and dead alike. Arlong might have slit his own throat, but Rika was the one pulling the strings._

"_We stole a sloop and made way for Reverse Mountain. Once in the Grand Line, it was incredible the amount of demoralized cutthroats and citizens alike we encountered. Kappa, who was an excellent navigator, had us dock in his home country of Alabasta, which had been reduced to rubble and ashes. It was a miracle our own throats were not slit during our visit, though it was when we discovered when Kappa was a flirtatious pervert when it came to women other than our captain. Chabo had defended a young, frail-seeming woman from a group of men who wanted more than just to look at her. Our navigator would not stop flirting with her, despite the fact he never laid a single finger on her other than on her hand to kiss it. To this day I do not remember if Rika was simply angered or jealous, for she immediately picked up the habit of abusing Kappa after one of his flirting sessions, both physically and verbally._ _Moda became one of us, demonstrating the superior culinary skills she picked up, paling any Rika had ever gained from growing up in a tavern. We all became family. Nothing seemed to matter, as long as we had one another._

"_Soon after encountering Moda, we discovered that the ship we had lifted from Arlong Park was falling apart. Moda, being a Grand Line native, told us about how there was a city that was once famous for their shipwrights and carpenters just further down the island path. Piiman immediately demanded to go. The decision was not difficult for the rest of us either. We agreed that we were going to seek out the last of the Galley La shipwrights and implore him to build us a ship. It was a fool-proof plan, provided the man was still alive_.

"_On our way to Water Seven, we came across a teenaged girl, passed out in a dinghy just as Ninjin, Piiman and I were years before when Rika saved us. Rika immediately took her on as our resident swordsman, not caring about her background. The green-haired young woman named Tashigi never gave us anything more than her name that day. It still unnerves me, how little we know about who she is other than her occupation, hair color and given name_.

"_That was a week ago. Now we are docked in Water Seven, the port crawling with thieves, villains and seedy dealings. The girls and Ninjin left three days ago to find our shipwright. I pray that ill will has not befallen them_.

"_So I end the first entry of 'Ambition' with a full conscious and a heavy heart. This should have been written sooner, but now is as good a time as ever to begin the story. We, after all, are the ones who are going to find One Piece. Our captain shall become King of the Pirates and with that title, bring about the golden age of piracy once prevalent in our world. Chaos with order shall reign. Our kind of pirate, the kind with dreams, aspirations, __**ambitions**__… we shall rule the Five Seas once again_."

Tamanegi sighed and rubbed his temples. He took a small piece of leather from his pocket and placed it between the pages where he halted his writing. He smiled at the faded green leather, once part of his idol's slingshot, before closing the book. Above him, he could hear the hurried footsteps of the others onboard. There was shouting, including that of what was unmistakably Rika scolding Kappa and a voice he had never heard before.

The pirate sighed and tucked the book in his shirt before walking out the door. It was time to keep the peace once again.


	2. An Introduction to Paulie

Wow! I'm glad that I've had such positive feedback! _**Dream**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan and _**Butterfly**_-san rock out loud! I have warm fuzzies on the inside. I do not own _One Piece_. I'm glad my reviewers caught on about this being a continuation of my last one-shot of 2006. I sort of forgot to put that into the starting paragraph for the first chapter. So, if anyone is confused about what I am basing this off of, read "As Fate Would Have It". The story may be fairly long, but it does help.

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**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter One

Tamanegi: _An Introduction to Paulie_

My name is Tamanegi, formerly of Syrup Village in the East Blue and currently of the Mugiwara Kaizokudan led by "Mugiwara no Rika". I am a pirate with dreams in a day and age where many pirates are simply so out of necessity. I had been hard at work recording our adventures when I heard noises from up above my cabin. Deciding to investigate, I walked into the galley and discovered that the rest of the crew was present, Rika, Tashigi, Moda and Ninjin having returned from a successful search inside of the dilapidated city of Water 7.

Our crew is definitely that which one can consider "motley." Rika, our captain, is a woman with warm cocoa-colored hair that she keeps in pigtails. She wears on her slight figure a bright red vest, men's jean shorts and sandals. Tashigi, whom we recently encountered, was dressed in a grimy white shirt, green-black long pants and heavy boots, a green haramaki sash across her waist to match her long moss-green hair. Moda, our darling chef, is a short and dainty woman with raven hair and an unnaturally pale complexion. She was wearing her usual long jade skirt, pale pink blouse and brown clogs. Ninjin was, of course, dressed in a faded violet shirt, black pants and black boots, clashing horridly with his orange hair. I, the chronicler, have longer straw-colored hair that I pull back simply, a pair of spectacles and a stocky build and wear a light azure shirt and a pair of black slacks.

We all stared as our new guest wolfed down a plate of food, barely having been placed on the table by Moda. He was much older than us, possibly old enough to be one of the girls' father. Grey liberally streaked his once-blond hair and beard, aging him prematurely. Broken work goggles sat upon his brow and his blue jeans and flame-decorated coat were faded and ragged. A large scar ran down his face, just barely missing his eye and instead taking a chunk out of the bridge of his nose. He wore no ornaments, save for a tarnished golden band around his left ring finger that was greatly bent out of shape. He was simply a different version of a familiar face, looking just like any other poor old man we would come across on the day to day island. With any luck though, this one would be different.

"So, are you sure this is him?" Chabo asked softly, leaning into Rika's ear. Chabo, our lookout, possessed dark brown hair and was dressed in the brown shorts and shirt he had as a hand-me-down from the old man he lived with at one point before joining up with us. Rika nodded resolutely, her straw hat bobbing up and down with the movement. The scars on her face and shoulders gleamed in the wan sunlight spilling in from outside, a reminder of why we were all now on the same path: the eradication of tyranny.

"Of course he is. We were searching the city for three days for crying out loud. Besides, this guy seems different than everyone else in the city, like he's got some sort of story to tell that no one else can tell for him. We asked him his name and when he said it was Paulie, we invited him back here."

"So, old man," the dark-haired Kappa grinned. The navigator walked across the room and straddled a chair across the table from Paulie, looking considerably more sophisticated in his emerald faux-silk shirt, blue pants and brown loafers. "You're the old coot we have to see about getting a ship built, right?"

"I don't build ships," Paulie answered gruffly, polishing off the plate of food. "I stopped doing that long ago."

"…but it is said that you inherited the abilities from the former mayor of this city, your mentor, who inherited his skills from the greatest shipwright that ever lived. How can someone like that just stop building ships?" Kappa scowled as Paulie took another plate of food from Moda and continued eating. Moda jumped back at the ferocity in which the man consumed the food, as if he had not eaten properly in days.

"I already told you," Paulie snapped. "I stopped building ships long ago. All of the other men from Galley La are now either dead or half-mad and I think you would be better off trying to convince them." He finished the second plate of food and leaned back in the chair, taking a cigar from his jacket and lighting it. "I thank you for the food, but there's nothing I can do in return other than turn you to someone else."

"I don't believe you," Piiman said sourly. Our marksman slammed his fist on the table and glared at Paulie, eerily resembling the childhood hero he shared with Ninjin and I in his brown overalls and white sash. He was clearly older than our Usopp-sama had been, however, possessing a thinly trimmed beard and flat, straight hair. "All I have ever wanted to be my entire life is a master carpenter! You sit here and say that you have the skills of one, but do nothing about it! Why do you waste them by refusing to do anything with them!?"

"You're too young to understand. You probably were only children back then," Paulie sighed. "What happened long ago is never going to change and that is all I am going to say."

"Tamanegi," Ninjin muttered from the corner of the room. I glanced over and saw my old friend scratching his amber hair. "You're the smart one. Do you know how long it has been since the Kuroneko Kaizokudan took over our island?"

"Almost ten years ago," I answered, keeping my tone flat as possible. "The last newspaper we got new was two days ago and if I use that, I figure everything came to the climax about a month from yesterday ten years ago. Our island was the last of his official territorial conquests. It was the longest campaign too, since it took years to properly secure it. Wasn't it your sister that caused so much hell when they tried to take over the island?" Ninjin blushed and looked at his feet. I am never going to be sure if he is proud or ashamed of the fighting prowess his elder sister possessed, being as she was what held off the Kuroneko Kaizokudan for almost three months.

"_Kuroneko_?" Paulie gasped. He stared at Ninjin and me. "You guys survived that? I thought that Jango was one of the Five Heartless East Blue bosses. It's said that not many people under the grasp of Jango are able to get out alive. Actually, it's supposed to be a miracle to escape the East Blue all together."

"You would be surprised what a child can live through when he's determined enough," Piiman sneered. Paulie dropped his gaze and I could feel the sheer amount of conviction in his voice.

"I cannot tell you how sorry I am, but I still cannot help you. I have my reasons and that is that." He stood up and began walking over towards the door. None of us wanted him to leave, but it seemed as if the old man before us was the only one moving. He was our only chance of making it on the Grand Line from this point further and he was slipping through our fingers.

Then I could hear the sound of metal scraping on metal and there was the flash of steel glinting in the sunlight from outside.

"Don't move," Tashigi said hoarsely. She held the blade of her sword up to the man's throat, her eyes cold. I sputtered wordlessly, foam beginning to build at the back of my mouth. After seeing Usopp-sama's death all those years ago, I have always been skittish about long, thin blades, particularly so close to one's throat.

"Didn't your mother and father ever teach you to respect your elders?" Paulie snarled. He looked sideways at Tashigi, who did not so much as flinch. Her eyebrows furrowed in grit, determination and anger.

"Tashigi-chan," Rika finally interrupted. "Put it away. He doesn't deserve it."

"I cannot bring myself to, Taisa. He thinks he's the only one in this wretched world who is so troubled," Tashigi replied, a slight trickle of blood dripping down the old man's neck. "He was at least grown when his world came apart on him." The rest of us gaped in shock. It was the most the green-haired woman had spoken since joining up with us, now spurting words with ease.

"Tashigi-san, I do not think a beautiful lady such as yourself should be troubled with such trash," Kappa said, gingerly moving Tashigi's arm aside. The swordsman stared at him, her face stone and uninviting. The expression she wore was that of angered confusion, unsure about how she should react. I imagined that this was the first time she had any sort of exposure to this sort situation, where there was someone else willing to fight for her.

"Hold on, let's not be too hasty," I piped up. I have always been the one to break up fights, so it felt quite natural stepping between Kappa and Paulie. "I highly doubt that we want to do anything that could quite possibly be detrimental."

"There you go, using those big words again," Ninjin sighed.

"We don't want to do anything too _stupid_," I corrected myself. Sometimes, I forget that Ninjin does not have the vocabulary that I possess. He is a good friend and all, but he is rather dull.

"Then I give you tonight to think about it," Rika said, stepping up to the plate. She put on her captain's scowl and looked Paulie right in the eyes. "You stay on the ship tonight and in the morning, you can give us your decision."

"I can't stay tonight," Paulie said frankly. "I need to get back home. There are people waiting for me and if I don't show up, it'll be hell."

"Then we'll have some of us go with you," Rika smiled. "How does Tashigi-chan, Chabo-kun and I sound?"

"Why take me?" Tashigi questioned. Rika frowned and glanced sideways at the swordsman.

"…because I have a feeling that having you with us would be beneficial, provided we run into a spot of trouble," she answered. Rika smiled slyly at Paulie and smirked, holding out her hand to shake his. "Is it a deal?"

The old man sighed and scratched the back of his head in thought. Everyone paused as he attempted to come up with the answer.

"Whatever," he sighed heavily. "Just don't harass my family, got it?"

"Deal," Rika smiled. She held out her hand and Paulie grudgingly shook it. The older man then proceeded to exit, Rika, Chabo and Tashigi not too far behind him. Once the door closed, I glanced around the room and saw the strained faces of my nakama.

"Does anyone else have a funny feeling about this?" Kappa asked shiftily.

"About what? That old codger or Tashigi almost slicing him to ribbons?" Piiman spat.

"I just hope that they come back alright," Moda squeaked. I sighed and tried my best to smile for her.

"Don't worry about it," I assured. "Everyone is going to be fine. I bet all four of them will return tomorrow, without a doubt.

"Hey Moda, I'm hungry," Ninjin said, sitting down at the table. My guess is that this was Ninjin's idea of a smooth change-of-subject tangent. Moda giggled slightly and began to pull ingredients and materials out to cook our dinners. Kappa, Piiman and I did not complain. Moda was very shaky about the whole thing. She had been through much the past month and it seemed as if cooking was the closest thing to an escape for her.

Then again, to be honest, I was worried myself.

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Author's Notes

_Tamanegi is one of the most descriptive people in the story. Only two or three other members of the crew will even come close to him in their narrative skills. You guys will figure them out eventually. Still, Tamanegi has to be this descriptive because of his skills as a writer and scholar and that alone makes him a pretty cool guy in his own sort of way. He was present at the murder of his idol Usopp, which is explained in the original story and will eventually be explored further in here._


	3. Water 7

Alright... anyone who remembers the Water 7 arc of the anime/manga, or even just the characters, might hate me a smidgeon for this chapter, but a fiction-ka's gotta do what a fiction-ka's gotta do. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Butterfly**_-san, _**Dream**_-san and _**Sakura**_-chan. I was going to wait until the 26th to update this, but I got antsy. -grins-

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**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Two

Rika: _Water 7_

My name is Rika. I am the captain of the Mugiwara Kaizokudan and I'm the one who's gonna be Pirate King and regain world order! I've got a crew and right now, I'm following this old guy named Paulie so that I can convince him to build us a ship of our own that'll be sturdy enough to go to Raftel. This quest has taken us all the way into the projects of Water 7.

Now, Water 7 is one of the strangest cities I have ever seen. Trust me, I've seen some pretty weird places and met some pretty strange people, but I had yet to see something like Water 7. The water smelled funny and the people were all dirty to some degree. The buildings were mostly run-down and what little did seem inhabitable was far off, high and in the center of the city. I assumed that was where the brass lived. All that we saw were peddlers and beggars and small children running around with not a single adult running after them.

But we weren't going to pay attention to people like them. My nakama and I were following Paulie, someone who is rumored to be the best shipwright alive. His master, Iceburg, died years ago in a fire and Iceburg's master, Tom... well he built the _Oro Jackson_! At least, that's what Moda-chan and Kappa-kun say. They're the ones that were born here in the Grand Line after all.

Still, Chabo-kun and Tashigi-chan were there with me, so I wasn't too worried. Besides, I'm pretty good with my Devil's Fruit Powers, so even if something did happen, I can take care of myself. I don't think Tashigi-chan wanted to come with us. She's so grumpy and never tells anyone else why she's that way. Then again, she's pretty young. I can't say that I blame her any. With the way the world has fallen, I doubt that we can find anyone who wasn't deeply affected.

Paulie wove in and out between the many different houses and narrow sidewalks, all while carrying some bags that he had with him from when I first tried to get him to build our ship. The streets were all that smelly water and the sidewalks were kind of high, being nearly four feet from water level. It was hard at first to keep up, but once we got the hang of tracking Paulie, it was fairly easy.

It was almost nighttime when we came to an old and run-down building. Many of the windows were broken and repaired with plywood and spare boards. Paint from local graffiti-punks was spread across the front, covering peeling yellow paint that was faded and grimy. It sort of shocked me when Paulie walked up to the door, which was basically a couple of boards nailed over the front with gaps in-between, and bent down to walk in.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "That place doesn't look safe."

"This is where I live," he said. I blushed in embarrassment. Oops.

"Great job," Chabo-kun teased, elbowing me slightly. He walked up to the door himself and squeezed himself through. Tashigi-chan and I quickly followed, Tashigi-chan refusing to say a word. At least when we were back on the ship a few hours ago she was actually talking.

Inside the house, if you want to call it that, was even worse than the outside. Furniture was thrown around and many things were simply lying around broken. Everything had a thick layer of dust over it and there were cobwebs EVERYWHERE! Ew! I can't stand cobwebs, spider webs or spiders! I stayed close to Chabo-kun the entire time we were walking until we began to go down a flight of stairs. At the bottom was a grimy, windowless kitchen. Grease caked the ceiling and walls, as well as the stove. The sections of wall that were not greasy were yellowed, almost brown in some places, from tobacco. The air was rank, smelling like old bacon, cigars and burnt food. The tiled floor was plastered in stains. I was able to pick out mud, food and what appeared to might have been small traces of blood splattered on the floor. Paulie set the bags on a table that had only three chairs by it and called into an open door, which lead to a dark hallway.

"Hey! I'm home!" he shouted. A little runt kid ran from the dark hall, grabbing onto the old man and hugging him around the middle best he could. A woman soon followed, but she was not as chipper as the kid was. She was blonde, just like Paulie and the boy and she had a look on her face that seemed like she was ready to collapse at any second. I don't think she could have been too much older than me, but she seemed as if she had been aged unnaturally.

"Where have you been?" the woman asked. "Grandma has been difficult all day. I could have really used your help." She sounded awfully tired.

"I got a little side-tracked," Paulie answered. He then turned towards Chabo-kun, Tashigi-chan and me. "These kids want me to build them a ship."

"A ship?" the woman gasped. I think she was a little pleased, because she sort of smiled as she put her hand to her mouth. "Are you going to do it?"

"That's why we're here, ma'am," Chabo-kun said, bowing his head slightly. "We want him to think about it. We have money to pay and we're ready to take good care of it once it's built."

"Build them their ship!" she scolded. I giggled a little.

"Are you really gonna build a ship, Dad?" the little squirt asked. The boy's face lit up with excitement.

"I thought it was past your bedtime," Paulie growled. He put on a scary face and the kid ran away, screaming in delight.

"Cute kid," I said, smiling wide. Paulie let out a hacking cough and settled down in one of the filthy chairs set at the table.

"Not my kid," he muttered. "He thinks I'm his dad, but I'm not. Thanks anyways." Awkward... yeah.

"Hello," said the woman as she walked over to us. On her way, she smacked Paulie on the back of his head, causing Chabo-kun and me to chuckle. "My name is Chimney. May I have the pleasure of knowing your names as well?"

"You're too formal," I said, scratching the base of one of my pigtails. "My name's Rika."

"My name's Chabo," Chabo-kun replied, bowing his head again. Chimney moved on to Tashigi, who was still staring coldly.

"Tashigi," she answered. Chimney seemed a little nervous at it, but smiled anyways.

"Welcome to our home," Chimney said, forcing herself to smile. "I hope you didn't mind my son Thomas back there. He can never seem to understand when he should just stay quiet."

"No problem at all!" I answered. Chimney seemed relieved and began shuffling through the bags that Paulie had set on the table.

"Were you able to find everything?" she asked him sweetly. Paulie grunted and scowled.

"Everything's getting harder to find. The market is expensive and people are hoarding more and more now. I swear, if they weren't our goddamn family they'd of been long dead by now."

"Paulie! That's no way to talk in front of guests!"

"I'll talk in front of guests how I want to!" Paulie snapped. He stood up and grabbed one of the bags. "I'll go see how they're doing." He sulked off into the dark hall.

"I apologize," Chimney sighed. She looked more tired than before as she sat down in a chair. "Sometimes my husband and I don't get along."

"I hear that all couples have their arguments," I said. I sat down in the chair across the table from her. Chabo-kun straddled the third chair and Tashigi-chan had decided to settle down by leaning on the doorjamb to the staircase. Chimney shook her head slowly and sighed.

"You don't understand," she said. "We weren't even in love when we got married. It was more for my honor than anything else. Paulie didn't want me to have a child out of wedlock that I didn't even want. Everyone thinks that Thomas is ours. He might as well be. I don't even remember his father's face."

"Why are you telling us this?" Chabo-kun asked. "We're basically strangers to you." Chimney reached into a bag and pulled out a shriveled apple that she immediately began eating.

"There's something about you three that I like," she said. She took another bite of the apple and smiled. "You remind me of Paulie before all the bad things happened. You remind me of Iceburg-san and of my grandmother. Most people around here are so empty and hollow in the inside and out. I can see something in all three of you that sets you apart."

"Well, we need a ship to find Gol D. Roger's treasure," I smiled. Chimney raised an eyebrow and one corner of her mouth jerked up.

"One Piece? Why?"

"I'm gonna become Pirate King!" I leaned in closer. "I want things back to the way it was, when pirates were only evil when the government tried to control them and actually had some sort of respect for folks."

"...and I assume that this is the crew that you are going to achieve this _**dream **_with?" Chimney asked, motioning to Chabo-kun and Tashigi-chan. She made sure to really emphasize the word "dream". I think she liked it.

"There's more of us," Chabo-kun cut in. "There's Ninjin, Piiman, Tamanegi, Kappa-kun, and Miss Moda still on the ship we've been using recently. We've been through a lot together and I think that the best thing for us to be able to do is fix what happened when we were children."

"Yes, it did seem like such a long time ago, now doesn't it?" Chimney sighed. I saw her crane her neck to look over my shoulder at the doorway. I turned around and saw that Tashigi-chan had fallen asleep while propped up against the door frame, her sword resting on her shoulder.

"Tashigi-chan's new," I said, knowing what Chimney was going to ask. "We found her floating in a dinghy about two weeks ago."

"She looks so young," Chimney whispered.

"We never asked her age, but I think she's about nineteen or so," Chabo-kun said quietly. "She's the youngest in the crew by far and I think she might be the angriest and damaged by the world's condition."

"That's saying something, considering what the rest of us have done isn't exactly saintly," I added. A memory came back to me from back when we first recruited Chabo-kun and Kappa-kun. That Fishman bastard had it coming to him, that was for sure.

"Poor thing," Chimney sighed. She finished the apple and placed the core down on the table. "No one is safe from the horrors. I think I was about nine or ten myself."

"Enough of this talk," I said, trying to lighten the mood. "I think maybe some more talk about that son of yours would be better conversation. He seems like a smart kid."

Chimney smiled and I was glad.

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Author's Notes

_Rika, a.k.a: "Onigiri Girl" or "Rice Ball Girl" or even "Cookie Girl" to some, was originally the squirt who Zoro defended from Helmeppo's dogs in Shell Town right before the Morgan Arc began. (Yeah! Remember the Morgan arc? That's Volume One material! Those were the days!) Basically, I made her a lot like Luffy, except female and slightly more outwardly mature. Her narrative style is hopefully brought across as being spunky and tomboyish. She gives her nakama honorifics ("-chan" for girls and "-kun" for guys) and does not take the notions of dreams and/or nakama lightly. Since Zoro was not there to save her from Helmeppo's dogs, she has scars across her face and arms as a reminder of the attack._


	4. Reminice

So I tried to draw Chimney as an adult... it's not working. I am ashamed. Maybe some more attempts will end up in something worth displaying online. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan and _**Butterfly**_-san. Good God... make the NSYNC in my head stop...

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Three

Tashigi: _Reminisce_

There are not too many things I remember about my childhood, but what I can still remember, I can remember well. I remember the way my mother and father would fight and never mean it. I remember how my aunt and uncle often treated me like I was their own child, despite the fact they were never officially in love with one another. I remember the feel of the old polished wood our home was made of under my bare feet. I remember the smell of the fields near our dojo home after a good rain and the taste of the sweets my mother always made because she knew my father hated them. I remember the way the light would filter though the sakura orchard and dapple the faces of my family in the partial shade as we picnicked in the afternoon. I remember how exhilarating it was to train by my father's side, learning from him all of the secrets of the dojo long kept by my mother's family. Those memories are cherished; things I never want to let go of.

I also have another reason to remember the sakura orchard; one that I would rather forget and hide in the deepest crevice of my memory. Blood would stain the soft pink glinting in the moonlight, engraving death on my consciousness for always and eternity. I could not have been more than twelve at the time. Things after that time began to come up as blank in my memories. I guess it was some sort of self-defense mechanism my child's mind devised in order to protect me. What I cannot remember will never hurt me, no?

I remember how when I was six years old, my aunt and uncle came to live at the family dojo. Tashigi-oba was my mother's cousin and near exact look-alike. If it were not for the fact Tashigi-oba required eyeglasses in order to see and my mother had a scar above her right eye, I might have thought they were the same person upon first glance. My mother was devoted and brazen, while my aunt was loyal and oftentimes unsure. Smoker-oji, now that I think about it, might very well have been in love with my aunt. He always claimed that his feelings for her were only like those of a brother, but there were subtle things he did for her that made my mother and father guess otherwise. They were simple things such as glances and maybe an extra smidgeon of patience, but they were obvious to the rest of us. The addition of them to the dojo seemed simply like it was a loving act of family, but I knew better. I heard the adults talking about how the government was dead and that the world was a dangerous place to live. Tashigi-oba and Smoker-oji were higher-ranking Marines and they had taken it upon themselves to protect my hometown of Shimoshiki Village, the place Tashigi-oba saw as being worth protecting the most. We might have stayed a loving family for years longer, had things not started to go downhill.

Two years after Tashigi-oba and Smoker-oji came to live with us, my mother died. My father said it was the same thing that killed her father before her. She became very weak and coughed up tons of blood. Tashigi-oba said the Bloody Cough also killed her father as well. I became scared. Immediately, I began to train myself harder. I had to work the mysterious disease out of me, before it became too late. That became my way of thinking. It hurt to think like that, but it was what it was. As a widow, my father became much more serious in his training, as well as in my own. Supposedly this was the second time death came knocking at my mother's door and she decided that this time, she was going to answer. My mother died before I could reach adolescence and the worst of the problems began. It was foreplay to a greater tragedy.

One day after my mother's death, though I am not quite sure how long exactly, Tashigi-oba left the dojo to go into town for food and never came back. One of the villagers came running, blood splashed all over his clothes, saying that she died protecting Shimoshiki from scouts. Smoker-oji went running all the way to the village, only to find her lifeless and stiff. Against my father's will I followed the two of them into Shimoshiki and saw the damage that the pirates had done. Mother and Tashigi-oba had read me stories before bedtime about the romantic side of pirate life, how killing and plundering was not what they were all about and were simply just free spirits. I knew that a band of simple free spirits could not have razed half the village and killed my aunt. It was the only time I could ever remember seeing Smoker-oji cry.

Smoker-oji never was the same after that. For the years afterwards, when he could have left in order to forget, he clung to the dojo that was by lineage mine. He still scared the other students with his seriousness, but there was something about him that changed. I could never place my finger on it, but there must have been something lacking in his eyes. The intensity was still there, but it changed, I guess. It was something similar to my father. Granted that the two would argue fiercely, often resorting to violent fights, but they still seemed to be very similar in nature. Visitors to the dojo would often mistake them for brothers, for despite the differences they had, the sense of comradery, understanding and loyalty towards one another was almost unreal in its intensity. It was almost as if they stayed under the same roof simply for the love of my mother and aunt.

I would have been an even slightly happier person had I been raised to adulthood by two men who despised one another, but that was just another fantasy as well. Father and Smoker-oji knew of the actions of men across the sea. An attack by the Axe-Hand Obliteration Troops had been put into action, targeting Shimoshiki and the neighboring isles for the "cleansing of those who believe themselves with impunity". My father and uncle prepared the village men for battle. Since the dojo was far enough away from the village, as well as large, it became the place where the remaining women, children and old folks hid.

Yes, I must have been twelve. A few days before half the village moved in, I celebrated my birthday. My father gave me my mother's white-hilted sword, the Wado Ichimonji, as a present and Smoker-oji tried to make the cake. We swore we would never allow him in the kitchen again and he was glad.

The Axe-Hand Obliteration Troops cut through the soldiers of Shimoshiki like a piece of tender fish. One of the teenaged boys that were with the older men had run into the dojo grounds, screaming for everyone left to run. Little did he know, but he led the enemy right to us. Most of the children were able to run to the sakura orchard, leaving mothers, grandparents and siblings that could not run behind. We climbed up and hid in the trees that were in full bloom. Most of the men ran right past us, believing we all had went to the woods just beyond the orchard. I had thought they were all gone, so I jumped down from my hiding place to see if my assumption was correct.

Needless to say, I was wrong.

I heard a heartless chortle from behind me and when I turned around, I was face-to-face with Axe-Hand Morgan himself. He had once been a Marine Captain, just like my uncle, except he went mad with power, wealth and bloodlust and only craved more. The man took one look at me, grinned and raised his right arm. His false limb's blade glinted in the firelight of the burning dojo.

Strong arms enveloped me and I saw a spurt of red that was not my own.

My eyes grew wide in horror as blood began to trickle from the corners of my father's mouth, the axe in his back leaving him with almost seconds left to live. He spoke one last time before collapsing into a pile of wasted talent and dedicated father: "I am so sorry I didn't get here in time. Show the world what you're made of, my Tash–i–gi–"

After that, I remember screaming. Lots of screaming. The orchard had caught on fire. Suddenly, Smoker-oji appeared and began fighting blindly against Axe-Hand Morgan with all his strength, even using his Moku-Moku no Mi abilities in an uncontrolled fury. Somehow, a crushing hand of smoke was not enough to stop the insanity of Morgan. Before I knew it, I was running from my dying uncle, a madman with murder glinting in his eyes and burning. I ran until I could not run anymore and then I ran some more. I collapsed somewhere on the other side of the island, away from the village and the death. I wished that everything was just a nightmare, that I would wake up in the morning to find Father and Smoker-oji fighting again, Mother and Tashigi-oba leading basic practices in the dojo, my home whole, my life normal.

When I woke up, a squirrel was sitting on my sword and my legs were torn to shreds by brambles and thorns. I knew that my life was changed forever. I stayed in the woods, knowing what I would find if I ever went back home. Burnt masses. Death. Bodies. I was scared and almost died of starvation and exposure. One day I collapsed and honestly believed that I was never going to wake up.

To my surprise, I did wake up. I was next to a roaring fire and snuggled gently into a traveler's bedding set. A white-haired man sat on the opposite side of the fire, my sword at his side. It turned out that he was an old friend and rival of my parents and had come to visit for the first time in years, only to have arrived two days after Morgan and his men had moved out. Saga-sensei said I had my mother's face and my father's hair, confirming that I was without a doubt their daughter. After that, he took care of me. I guess he felt guilty, being that he was not there to see either one of my parents off to the afterlife.

Now, I have no idea as to if he is even still alive.

Three years ago, when I was sixteen, we were staying in a village that was relatively quiet. We were about to leave when a man in a dapper suit strutted into the tavern we were eating in. I will never forget how sinisterly he smiled at me. I felt so exposed. He walked right up to me and offered to take me out on "a date", grabbing hold of my hand in order to kiss the back of it. Saga-sensei smacked his hand away from mine, as if he were my father instead of just my sensei. This infuriated the man. He was "Ironfist" Fullbody, a former lieutenant in the military and partner-in-crime with the East Blue Boss Jango. With a sneer, he snapped his fingers and goons barged in. There was a fight. Screaming. Breaking glass. Someone died. I cannot remember who. Red. Something stung my back. Saga-sensei calling out my name. Brown. I'm wet and cold and my back is erupting in pain. Mud blinds my eyes and I could see no more.

Silence.

After two days of searching, I failed to find even a trace of Saga-sensei. From that point on until two weeks ago, I drifted. The diagonal gash down my back healed funny, giving me a rather knotty scar from my left shoulder to my right hip. I always cover it. That scar is my mark. It shows that I am cursed, everyone I had ever cared for now dead or missing.

Then, by chance, I found the care of the Mugiwara Kaizokudan. They picked me up and now consider me one of them. I do not understand it. Call it ignorance if you will, but they think that if they can find the "One Piece" that they can restore order to the world.

What peace will "One Piece" bring?

Nothing, that is what. There was no peace to begin with. I will play along with their little game for now, but the whole way, I will keep my thoughts to myself. I think that they are all fools. Besides, they are feeding me. All I have to do is do as they ask and I will survive.

Father, Mother, Smoker-oji, Tashigi-oba, Saga-sensei, I will avenge you somehow.

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Author's Notes

_Tashigi, if you haven't figured it out by reading this chapter, is the daughter of Zoro and Kuina. I never explained their fate in the original one-shot, so I figured that the notion was a good idea to write. Even though the chapter does seem slightly out of place, it was slightly led into at the end of the previous chapter. Tashigi is an angry young woman and currently lives her life in secrecy from the crew that has taken her in. As the youngest crew member by a few years, she is still considered a child by Japanese standards (coming-of-age being twenty-one) and still shows this by addressing certain superiors by titles. Smoker and Tashigi receive the Japanese version of "uncle" and "aunt", Saga is "teacher" or "master" and Rika is "captain" taken from the military rank (only 'cause of her aunt calling Smoker that all the time). Despite being young though, she's still apparently twisted. All her innocence is long gone, leaving a shell of what could have been. Even her father was a shell of what he could have been, having never left the dojo. The butterfly effect was in full force when creating and modifying these characters, so I do not want to hear any crap about how Zoro and Smoker were too weak._


	5. Visitors

I know that this is a quick update, but I'm just geeked right now. I watched episode 316 last night and what the train conductors were saying about Nami and Paulie... heheh. It probably made my month. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Dream**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Sakura**_-chan.

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**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Four

Chabo: _Visitors_

Captain Rika and Swordslady Tashigi were asleep faster than you could sing a sea shanty of respectable length. My captain was resting with her arms folded on the table, her head pressed against her forearms. The young swordswoman was still asleep in the doorway, slumbering as a warrior should with her weapon at ready.

Me, well, I was still wide awake. My name is Chabo and as the resident lookout for the Mugiwara Kaizokudan, I usually don't get much sleep anyways. It came from all those nights from when I was a kid, always nervous to the point of insomnia about whether or not I was going to wake up the next day because the Fishmen decided to attack at night. At least I was right to do so. There were a couple of times I had saved Mr Gen's life because I stayed up late, so I can't complain.

Still, it was a bit unnerving sitting in that kitchen with the girls asleep like that. I sat in the chair and sighed loudly.

"Is everything alright?" asked Ms Chimney. I looked to see that she was standing in the doorway. She had a couple of blankets in her arms that she immediately began to throw over Captain Rika and Swordslady Tashigi. She then came over to me and looked me over. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," I said. She held out a blanket and I raised my hand in polite refusal. "I said I'm fine."

"Then at least would you join us in the den?" she asked.

This time I accepted and followed Ms Chimney into the darkened hallway. There were a couple of doors on either side of the hall and one at the very end that had a room illuminated by candlelight. I followed in Ms Chimney and saw that Mr Paulie was sitting there in the room. The room was low, foul-smelling and poorly lit by the candle. There was a lot of space though, enough for there to be a few chairs and there were even three beds aligned along one of the walls, all occupied by sleeping people. I sat down in one of the chairs and stayed silent.

"Well?" Mr Paulie scoffed after a few moments of silence. "Aren't you going to argue about how you want me to build you a ship?" I gulped slightly and looked nervously at the man who might as well of been twice my age. Ms Chimney huffed as she sat down. I think it was her way of telling Mr Paulie to shut up.

"No sir," I replied, bowing my head slightly. "I just am not sleepy."

"Ah," he grumbled. He shifted in his chair and listened as one of the people in the beds muttered something about a woman, caviar and cigarettes that seemed to be in-tune with a song. "Are you one of those people who never sleeps?"

"Yes, sir," I said.

"Don't call me 'sir'. It makes me feel old."

I looked down at my hands and I knew my face went red. Sometimes, I really wish I had the guts I had when I was younger. Even just five years ago, I was a bit bolder. Not anymore. Being that I took care of Mr Gen, I almost had to learn how to be polite to a fault, which of course had an effect on my bold streak.

"Hey, don't be like that," Mr Paulie said. I looked back up to see that he was looking at me like I was a little kid. Basically, that's what I was to him, I guess. One of the figures in the bed snored loudly and kept the silence from being too quiet. I looked over at the figures and tried to look at them in the faint candlelight. From the distance I was at, they all seemed old, much older than even Mr Paulie was. It reminded me of Mr Gen and it hit me.

"You… you take care of them, don't you?" I asked. Mr Paulie and Ms Chimney both looked taken aback.

"How would you tell?" Ms Chimney asked. I shrugged.

"I took care of an old man once myself," I said. "I kept my chair in his room too. Also, from what you two said earlier to one another, it is my guess that you two are caring for the people along the wall there."

"Observant," Mr Paulie said, his lips curling into something close to a sneer. Ms Chimney didn't seem too angry though. She actually smiled. It was kind of weak, but it was still a smile.

"My grandmother and what is left of two very good men," she said, obviously referring to the three sleeping people. She picked up a basket from next to her chair and took out some socks that she immediately began to mend. "I think that it is only right, as they are three of the few left who remember what life was like before all this happened."

"Chimney!"

"He doesn't mean anything bad by it," Ms Chimney said, nodding her head in my direction. Mr. Paulie immediately backed down and Ms Chimney turned back to me. "My grandmother is simply old and there is nothing unnatural about that. Tilestone and Peepley Lulu though, they would have been a pair of robust old men had we not been mugged eight years ago."

"I am sorry," I said. "It must be hard."

"Not really," Ms Chimney smiled. "Only my grandmother can get difficult on certain days. Peepley Lulu is usually out of it and Tilestone is only trouble when he argues with Paulie."

"He doesn't think I treat you well enough," Mr Paulie grumbled, obviously uncomfortable. "How am I supposed to put up with shit like that? He knows."

"You understand just as well as I do that he's just getting old and cranky," Ms Chimney said, looking at Mr Paulie sideways. "Leave it be."

I looked at Ms Chimney and Mr Paulie and wondered. I wondered what kind of people they would have been, how their lives would have been different, even if the two men in the beds were not injured. I took a deep breath of air, the smell reminding me of the hut that Kappa-kun and I lived in together with Mr Gen on Cocoyashi, mixed blatantly with grease, tobacco and the dank odor that comes from living underground. I could feel for these two people; I knew what it was like.

Suddenly, I heard a crash and a scream. Mr Paulie immediately jumped to his feet and two of the people in the bed were startled awake. I could see that one was a man with a pure white beard and hair while the other man's cow-licked hair was salt-and-peppered along with his whiskers.

"What's going on!?" the white-bearded one bellowed. The other man made some sort of squealing sound, similar to an attempt at singing.

"Never you mind!" Mr Paulie snapped. He rushed to the door that led into the hallway and suddenly he was barreled over by a wall of bubbles.

Pink, lavender-scented bubbles.

I jumped out of my seat and before I knew it, those same bubbles were upon me. I fell to the ground, overwhelmed by… something. It's really hard to describe. It was like my entire body was being drained of energy to fight. When the bubbles cleared, my skin was slick and my limbs rounded and stubby. The three people that were in the beds had blood coming from them, pouring onto the ground. Mr Paulie was lying next to me from what I could tell, he was exactly the same as me with the disfigured and slippery body. Hovering above us were three men and a woman. One of the men was huge and had not only Ms Chimney, but also both Swordslady Tashigi and Captain Rika in his arms.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing to my nakama!?" I shouted. I tried to stand, but I slipped onto the floor when I was unable to get a grip.

"Gyaa haha! Relax, they're only unconscious," one of the men laughed. Just then, another man walked into the room, carrying a sleeping Little Thomas in his arms.

"Quiet Jyabura," he scolded in a hushed tone, stroking Little Thomas's hair. "I don't want to have to knock this kid out by force. He's still so young... maybe not even eight years old."

"Kaku, you're too soft," the man named Jyabura snarled.

"Thomas! Wake up!" Mr Paulie shouted angrily. Kaku shielded he child's ears.

"Hush!" he hissed.

"Bastard! Don't you tell me what to do!" Mr Paulie said angrily. I could see anger in his eyes. Deep anger. _Old anger_.

"Then let's just get out of here," said the woman icily. She adjusted her spectacles and sneered.

The final man, who had remained silent the entire time, stared at me as soon as I glanced at his face. I doubt I never felt more naked in my entire life. The stare was harsh and cut into me. What I knew was only a few moments felt like hours before he turned his attention to Mr Paulie. He took a bottle of water from the inside of his jacket and poured it on Mr Paulie's hair.

"You're twisted," Mr Paulie spat. I watched as the water ran over him, turning his hair and face back to what it was. The man with the killing stare scoffed slightly in his throat, grabbed Mr Paulie by the hair and threw him up against the wall, holding him in place with only one hand.

"I'm twisted?" the man said, a smile slowly curling on his lips. His voice was smooth and rich, as if he had once been a man of sophistication. "You have no idea what I have been through these past years, so I'm nothing like you would remember… but I'm touched anyways."

"Liar."

"Just listen to me you worthless pile of crap," the man hissed. He splashed a bit of water on Mr. Paulie's midsection and solidly punched him. Mr Paulie gasped for air, spit and blood flying from his mouth. "This is going to be a lot of fun for the both of us, you hear? You've got exactly ten hours to find which one of these little underground hovels we're in. If you come even one minute late, your child-plaything is dead, as well as the extra baggage. The kid... I haven't decided yet if we're going to keep him or feed him to piranhas, though knowing Kaku he might want to keep it and erase all memory of this filthy little burrow you call a home. We'll turn him into a killing machine."

"You keep your hands off my wife and son."

"No... though this is a fun scenario from what the rumors make it out to be, isn't it? Paulie the Chaste–––fucking around with that old drunk bitch's grandkid, though she was barely out of childhood herself. Now how does that work out to make me the twisted one, hm?" I began shaking as the man's voice went from deathly serious to sickly amused. He made a couple of suggestive sounds and gently bit his tongue in amusement. What I could see of his face seemed twisted, as though there was at some point in time a different version of this man somewhere.

"I never touched her," Mr Paulie replied in defense. The strange man threw Mr Paulie onto the floor hard and tossed the open water bottle into the space between us. Water splashed in little droplets on my face and front, though not enough to turn me completely back to normal. I fell into the puddle of water and once I splashed the water on myself to become normal, I looked up.

All of the strange people were gone. They were gone, along with Ms Chimney, Little Thomas, Captain Rika and Swordslady Tashigi.

Cripes. Kappa-kun's gonna kill me.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Chabo is polite beyond what his canon character could have ever been. This clearly comes from partially being raised by Genzo and then having to take care of him as he died. He gives people other than the male members of his group high honorifics (Mr, Ms, Miss, Captain, Swordslady, etc) with the exception of Kappa, giving him the honorific of "-kun" because of their years together before joining the crew. He also calls the OC Thomas "Little", because of how he is a child, as a form of endearment._

_Cipher Pol 9 is obviously different. I figured that after around twenty or so years of being out of their normal jobs, they would have had to find some sort of occupation to sustain themselves. Lucci, being the strongest, would naturally take the brunt of the assignments and would most likely build up so much... erm... crap in his brain that he would eventually snap. He would most likely find Paulie's situation humorous, considering he knew of the life Paulie had beforehand._


	6. Rescue!

Hey all! I've got a treat for some people who might be a little confounded when trying to imagine some of the characters from the story. On my profile page, I have links to pictures I drew of Rika, Ninjin, Piiman, Tamanegi, Chabo and Tashigi the OC. Kappa, Moda, Paulie, Chimney and Thomas are soon to come... provided the artist's block lifts on them. I do not own_ One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Butterfly**_-san, _**Blue Flower**_-san, _**Dream**_-san and _**Sakura**_-chan. You lot make my day.

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**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Five

Kappa: _Rescue!_

It was bad enough that My Tashigi, My Moda and My Captain had been out for the past three nights in a row with Ninjin of all people. Ninjin. Dull and brutish Ninjin. Now, My Tashigi and My Captain are out with that shit-polite idiot _Chabo_, following some seedy character home, which could very well be a crack-house or a brothel for all we know. If anyone should have been escorting and protecting the women it should have been me, Kappa. I am the one who cares for them, or at least I am the one who shows that I care for them on a regular basis and appreciate their beauty and elegance. I would have defended them to the very end.

I was livid, at the least.

The remainder of us were waiting in the galley, too awake to think about bed. I had already helped My Moda clear the dinner dishes and now all that was left to do was to wait in anticipation. The only reason I had not tracked the group is because I really wanted that ship to be built. If we showed that old dickhead Paulie that we weren't assholes, then he might build us a ship that could get us to My Captain's dream and after that, take back my country. That would be grand… but no. That idiot Chabo and that dickhead Paulie just had to stumble in, well after dark. Dickhead was covered in his own blood with the Idiot supporting him, also looking as if he were going to pass out at any second. Idiot also had a white sword strapped to his back that was obviously not his.

"You've got to help us!" Idiot shouted. He was obviously panicking, his eyes bulging in concerned fright. That prick Tamanegi ran out of the galley to get the first aid kit just as Idiot put Dickhead down on the ground.

"Where are Tashigi-chan and Rika-san?" My Moda asked. Idiot refused to answer because he was too shaken, just staring at the Dickhead's bloody face. I went up to him and grabbed him by the shirt and pressed him into the wall.

"WHERE ARE THE GIRLS?!" I roared. Idiot's eyes went wide and he began sputtering something totally incoherent and stupid. Prick came back with the medicine and began patching up Dickhead.

"Put him down Kappa," Ninjin the Brute said. I sneered and gave the Idiot a little toss before letting him go.

"What happened to Tashigi and Rika?" Piiman asked in his pussyfoot voice. I swear, out of the lot of us, I wouldn't be surprised if he was a fucking gay. In fact, I would willingly bet a thousand berri he's never kissed a woman and has been someone's man-bitch

"We were attacked!" Idiot claimed, as if none of it was his fault. I know better. I bet it was.

"We weren't just attacked," Dickhead growled, causing Prick to jump back. I think he was only half-conscious, because his words were slurred together.

"I knew it," I said. I did. I had the distinct feeling that I should have gone instead of that Idiot!

"No, if they were bandits, I could have handled them," Dickhead wheezed. He sat up, freaking out the Prick in the process. Damn he was skittish. "What we were hit by were no ordinary street punks."

"What happened?" My Moda asked. Her face was one of pure angelic worry; making me desire the freedom to hold her in my arms and tell her that everything was going to be alright and that I would take revenge.

"I haven't seen them in so long. That bastard…" was all Dickhead could say. I was losing my patience, but the Brute spoke up first.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Cipher Pol 9," Dickhead replied. He staggered to his feet and scowled. "I haven't seen any of them in almost twenty years. Those backstabbing traitors."

"What did they do to Rika-san and Tashigi-chan?" My Moda asked. Once again: the face of an angel.

"That's why we're here," Idiot answered. "They were captured and we need your help to get them back!"

"You let them get captured!?" I screamed. I wanted to go over and deck Idiot right across the face, but Dickhead spun me by the shoulder and socked me first.

"It wasn't his fault!" he snapped. I felt the blood streaming from my upper lip, running hot over my skin. "They had the advantage of surprise! Just shut up and listen to me you little asshole!"

"Please! Don't fight!" My Moda squeaked. Well, got to listen to the lady.

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

All better, I guess. He's still a Dickhead.

"Years ago, I thought that they were my friends," Dickhead began. "They worked in a bar, next to me in the shipyard, as my boss's secretary—they were undercover and passing as normal people. You would have been fooled too; everyone was. One day, they decided to kill Iceburg-san. They shot him and while he was recovering, burned down his house with him still in it. After that, they killed off the leader of a band of trouble-causing punks and disappeared completely. It was then Water 7 became what it is now. Those government bastards…"

"…but there is no more government, nor was there ever such a thing as a 'Cipher Pol 9' listed in the records," Prick added, adjusting his eyeglasses. "What you are saying could be nonsense." Goddamn prick. Only he would know useless shit like that.

"Hey, they have my wife and her kid and if I don't get them in less than ten hours, they're as good as dead, just like those girls of yours," Dickhead replied. My Moda gasped in shock. "We need all the manpower we can get, whether you think they're real or not."

"Then let me get the weapons," the Brute muttered. I don't know why he was the one to volunteer. He doesn't even need weapons.

"Where are the girls being hidden?" I asked. Dickhead scratched his neck and grunted unintelligibly.

"Somewhere under the city. The buildings underneath the streets are all connected by tunnels and passageways. I've got a good guess though as to which exact building they're being held in."

"Where?" Pussyfoot asked.

"The shipyard under the bridge," Dickhead answered. That made absolutely zero sense.

"Fine, then let us go," Prick decided as soon as Brute came back with the weapons. Brute dropped onto the table a war-axe, two staffs and a leather satchel that I knew had knives in them. Prick and My Moda took a staff each, while I picked up the knives and elbowed Idiot in the side as he picked up the war-axe.

"Why didn't you take that with you? Could have helped."

"You weren't there."

"Excuses," I replied. This is why I should have gone instead. I glanced at My Moda as she gave her staff an experimental swing. There had been little use for our weapons up until this point in the Grand Line and I was almost tempted to tell her to stay on the ship. I gave the notion a thought and decided it was best to allow her to come. I could protect her in the city. She would be safer with me, instead of by herself here on the ship. She would have demanded to come anyways. She's such an angel like that, never wanting to feel even the slightest bit helpless, although it would not matter since I would protect her anyways.

"Do you have any extra rope lying around?" Dickhead asked as we all headed towards the door.

"Why?" Brute asked, sounding completely and utterly stupid.

"I need to brush off some old skills of mine," Dickhead said. We walked out onto the deck and watched as he took a couple lengths of rope and threw them over his arm so that they rested on his shoulder.

With that we were off… off to save the women.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Kappa is what I want to call the Sanji of the new crew. He dresses nice, he loves the ladies and hates the men. He calls all the women of the crew "My -insert name here-" and gives the guys demeaning nicknames. I'll be sure to, in future chapters, reintroduce the owners of the nicknames instead of starting right off the bat with "Dickhead" and "Pussyfoot". Heh. He fights with freakin' knives. He is a man of chivalry in a world that thinks of it as being dead._


	7. What A Life I Lead

I feel so bolstered. Recent manga chapters have really, _really_ been making me smile and love the fact I am a One Piece fan even more. Please to the infinite degree tell me anything at all you guys think I can do better with this fanfiction. I would super appreciate as much input as possible. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Flower**_-san, _**Ryo-kun**_, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Sakura**_-chan.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Six

Paulie: _What a Life I Lead_

I've been told since I was young that I was a fucking cursed screw-up. My parents died when I was a teenager and I had been taken in by Iceburg-san only because of my promising talent as a shipwright. Since that moment, I have always been in some sort of debt, whether morally or money-wise. Some have called it fate that I have turned out the way I have. Wanna know what I say?

Fuck fate. Fuck fate and discard it like a goddamn piece of fucking scrap ship.

If fate existed, it would have made it such those bastards would not have shown their ugly faces around here ever again. I would not have to be married to a woman I have yet to love as a husband should a wife and would not be raising a child that was never mine to begin with. Sometimes I wonder what one person fucking screwed up to make all of this crash and burn. Who was it that did or didn't do something? Was his choice to fuck up the world a conscious one? If I ever get my hands on him, he's a dead man.

I can't though. Right now, I have to worry about protecting Chimney and Thomas. They're the kind of family I had never wanted, but I am still obliged to protect them. I promised that I would. Both Kokoro and Iceburg-san would haunt me if I ever did anything to let them get into harm's way as long as I could prevent it.

So I ran. I ran as fast as I could with those shit kids trailing behind me. They had hunted me down and tried to convince me to build a ship. No fucking way. Those days are dead. No more master ships are born in this day and age to those such as us. We, the former generation of everything, are no longer in power, nor should we have hope to regain it. Our day of power is lost forever.

We ran towards the shipyard under the bridge, Tom's Workers, as quick as we could. It was deep within the slums, almost underwater. It was the most likely place those fucking bastards would have gone, thinking it as being "poetic" and shit like that. I wanted to beat in Lucci's face for letting his lackeys touch my wife and son. They might as well be my true wife and son, because now there is no one else left for me to protect. Still, facing the slums was going to be no picnic. The further towards the sea you get, the rougher the city becomes. Get underwater and any normal human being is toast.

"Listen, I'm not going to protect you brats," I yelled over my shoulder. "If you fall behind, I'm leaving you behind!"

"Sounds fair enough," replied the guy who was loading a pistol as he ran. I was never properly introduced to any of these kids really. This was the one who yelled at me because I wouldn't build his ship. Piiman I think it was? As if it really matters. I think I'll take Chimney and Thomas and leave this wretched city for someplace safer. I hear the South Blue's fairly peaceful compared to the rest of the world.

Turning on a dime, I ducked into a building to my right. The door was wide open and the usual abandoned appearance was set apart from the others by a large red X painted over the graying paint.

"What are you doing!?" one of the kids yelled at me. They shouldn't question me, fuckers.

"This is the easiest way to the shipyard under the bridge!" I shouted. I stopped for a moment and waited for the brats to catch up. They all stumbled in behind me, shocked at the condition of what was once a bookshop. I kicked down the door that was behind me and a passageway opened up to the underworld, dark, dank and smelling of the deceitful rats that occupied it.

"Is this the entrance to the tunnel system you were talking about?" asked the one with glasses.

"Yeah," I said. "Before we go down, you all need to know that there's no coming in without the total resolution to come out with those girls of yours. If you go in there without resolve, then you will not come out. I can guarantee it."

"I cannot imagine being enough of a dickhead to abandon the girls," one of the guys said. I waited for one of them to wimp out, but when none of them did, I turned on my heel and entered Hell.

If Water 7 was a shit-hole on the surface, then there were no words that could describe the underground. The first few levels are generally sane. Many fairly normal people live in houses where the living quarters are blocked off from the rest of the underground as I did with my family. If you enter the tunnel system through a shop front or go beyond those residential areas of safety, you're fucked. Dirty trade takes place down there. The big thing right now is injections. A couple of years ago, it was assassinations and before that it had been human beings. Every twist and turn, every bend in your path, can potentially bring you to your doom. Normal people, the weaklings of average citizenship, are nothing to a dealer's burly bodyguard. A pesky neck is quickly snapped. Even in the years before the Sea Train was built, Water 7 has never been this shitty. Desperate and destitute, yes... but never willingly reeking of crime as it was now.

Fortunately, I knew more than the average person about the underground tunnels. Mainly it was because I had traveled many of them when I was younger, back when they were only the hiding places for bums and children playing hooky from their duties at home and school. Also, it is now one of the few places these days to get fresh produce and medicine. Once the dealers were separated from the ones who actually had some sort of shady clue about them, all I ever needed to worry about were the thugs. Some of them remembered me from the days before the city's downfall, others didn't. Sometimes, I wasn't even picked up on their radar, simply moving along without being noticed by anyone. Fucking ingrates.

After about fifteen minutes of running, we came across our first pack of flunkies, smelling like shit and bred only to fight. It was simple to take them out. Even the girl could sack a couple of K.O.'s in the fight, though I think they were on accident. We rushed past them quickly, not even bothering to take the spoils of the boss they were protecting.

We're coming. Don't worry. We're coming for you guys, even if it kills us.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Paulie's character was so much fun to play with. Since his age was never mentioned, as far as I know, my guess is that during the Water 7 arc in the series he is around twenty to twenty-four years old. This makes him a good eleven to sixteen years older than Chimney and the oldest character with narration privileges by far. If anyone does know his official age, it would be of great help to me. He was originally a fairly pessimistic person in my opinion and I also find his current marital situation ironic. Over the years, life has screwed him over so much that he's a real coarse and gruff man inside and out by the time Rika approaches him to build a ship. Tamanegi's physical description of him is a testimony to that. An interesting concept though, is his level of attachment to Chimney and Thomas, being as they are the closest thing to a family that he is ever going to have. He is also a great link to the real series, being as he __**could have been **__in Luffy's crew, at least age-wise._


	8. Captured

I meant to update this on Saturday or Sunday, but I was stolen by my parents after work and taken for most of the weekend to watch fireworks at the Mackinac Bridge, where we then went to stay in a internet-devoid cabin. It was kind of crazy. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Flower**_-san and _**Sakura**_-chan. Darling, darling, I'm a crazy rainbow star!

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Seven

Rika: _Captured_

I don't remember how I got there, but one minute I'm settling my head down on the table in the greasy kitchen and the next, I wake up and find that I'm standing with my hands tied behind my back and I'm tied to some post. Ah, the life of a pirate! You never know what's coming around the next bend!

"Tashigi-chan, Chabo-kun," I whispered. "Are you there?" I waited patiently for a reply, but all I got was a grunt that sort of sounded like it came from Tashigi-chan. Oh, damn.

"Your friend there suffered from a fairly sharp blow to the head when she tried to fight back," said a voice. I instantly tensed up my muscles and craned my neck to look around the room. It was a large room, good for sparring in. Some people dressed in black stood not too far from where I was, which was slightly distressing. I fidgeted in place, attempting to use my Devil's Fruit powers.

"Your ability is not going to work now. You are completely defenseless," said the voice again. A man stepped into my line of vision and smiled at me. He was seriously creepy, with all the scars he had all over and the wolfish smile he had. I wanted to back away when he came closer. He came within a few inches of me, making me feel trapped. He put his right hand on the pillar above my shoulder to lean on and with his left hand actually touched my face with one of his long, claw-like fingers, running it from my cheekbone down to trace my jaw line, coming to rest just under my chin. His face came closer to me, his smile turning from wolfish to just plain cunning. By instinct, I bit his finger just enough to cause him pain and he backed away, nursing the wound. Serves you right, you creep. Be glad I didn't clamp down harder.

"That's what you get for playing with our prey," said another voice dully. I wasn't able to see who said it exactly, but I saw the expression on the wolfish guy go from physically injured to pissed.

"Shut up you goddamn herbivore! At least I waited until after she woke up!" the man barked. I heard him snarl and I stared in wonder as the guy who I had just bit… well… his face sort of became like a wolf's face. It was freaking scary!

"Hey! How come I can't use my ability when you can!?" I demanded. "…and how did you even know I had a Devil's Fruit ability to begin with!?"

"You are bait, essentially," said a new voice. Stupid voices. They really needed to stop. A guy with long curly black hair and pretty eyes came up to me. He was smart though and stayed a good distance away.

"I would appreciate an explanation," I said. "It's only right I know why exactly I'm powerless and captured."

"We are what is left of a great organization called 'Cipher Pol 9'," said the pretty guy. "Once, we were the government's prized fighting squad. Now that the days of order are dead, assassination is the only practical occupation we have left."

"Now you know now that's not true," said another guy. This one had a friggin' long square nose and strawberry-blond hair. "You and I can still build ships with the best o' them. Kalifa was a secretary. Blueno was a barkeep. The only one of us without a practical job was Jyabura, here."

"I didn't want to submit myself to such idiocy, that's all," the wolf-guy snapped. I could feel the tension in the air build between the three men. Men. Idiots. They were basically spilling every little detail about themselves that they could to me. I guess that's the difference between good and evil, I suppose.

"You never answered my question," I said, bringing attention back to me. The guy with the square nose answered me.

"You are currently tied to a pillar made of seastone. The seastone is basically a solidified form of the sea and cancels out all Devil's Fruit abilities with contact. We knew to tie you up to it because we were told of your power, little Miss."

"Who told you?" I asked.

"Have you ever heard of a man named Rizado?" asked the pretty guy. Rizado… Rizado… who in the world…?

Oh, shit.

"That's one of the Revolutionaries," I said. I could tell that my voice was barely a whisper. My mouth was dry and I could barely breathe. What could Dragon's Heir want with me?

"He is _the _Revolutionary to be exact," sneered the wolf-guy. "Monitor Rizado wants you and your crew dead. He's willing to pay a whole hell of a lot of money for it too. Says something about how you've got a plan to become Pirate King and take back his base of operations. That would be bad, now wouldn't it?"

"It was just luck that you brought us to some old friends," laughed the pretty guy. I didn't like the sound of his laugh. It was too smooth, too fluid. "Kaku, Kalifa and I have a bone to pick with that bastard. How poetic that we will finally get paid an amount worthy of our talents and take out the last idiot from our old lives."

"Who are you talking about?" I asked.

"Paulie, o' course," said the square-nosed man, as if it were as plain as the nose on my face. "He tried t' give us away. He's darn lucky we didn't come back for him sooner."

"Well, he had better hurry up," grunted the wolf-guy. "We gave him ten hours and it's already been eight. I think that the kid Kaku brought along is going to wake up soon."

"You brought the runt!?" I snapped. "Are you mad?!"

"No, o' course not," said the square-nosed guy with a smile. "We just couldn't leave him all alone at home, now could we?" He turned and happily walked back out of my line of vision.

"Now that I think about it, I almost feel sorry for the boy," wolf-guy said. The pretty guy nodded in reply.

"You know Kaku's just going to mother him. Just be glad he's no pedophile and has always wanted a child of his own to raise."

"Kidnapping is no way to have a family," I said acidly. The pretty guy came closer to me and smacked me across the face.

"What we do with the kid is none of your concern," he said coldly. "Now be a good girl and shut up, or we might just kill you before the time limit's up."

"Bite me," I said. The pretty guy sneered and took his pointer finger and had it whiz right past my face, just brushing against my cheek. I could hear the stone behind me crumble as a trickle of blood went down my cheek and carefully dripped onto my vest.

"I don't need a Devil's Fruit to kill you," he said sinisterly. His pretty eyes suddenly went cold as I tried to use my ability again. "That power is not your own."

"Where did you put Tashigi-chan?" I snarled. Change the subject, quick!

"She's on the other side of the pillar, of course," laughed the wolf-guy. "Now, tell me, how much longer are those friends of yours going to leave you be? Time is ticking." He cackled menacingly as he walked away, the pretty guy right behind him. I tried again to wriggle out of the rope binding and failed.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Again, Cipher Pol 9 is drastically changed in a few ways. For one, I am sure that Kalifa and Blueno probably would have joined in on the conversation if they really wanted to... but I didn't want them to, so, there. Lucci is more outwardly insane than normal, Kaku is about the same and Jyabura... well... he just looks like some sort of pervert to me. I needed to make that known. I mean, the visualization of him and Rika is pretty creepy, ne?_

_Monitor Rizado shall be further explored later. There will be some background information given, but don't worry about it too much, since you'll know about him soon enough. His name is such a bad pun that it hurts._


	9. Dreams

So I'm one of those losers that watches One Piece on YouTube, right? Anyways, I recently got the time to watch the latest two episodes from Japan, one raw and the other with subtitles. I laughed really hard. It was almost as good as when they sugguested Paulie/Nami. Heehee. I do not own _One Piece_, otherwise I would not require sites such as YouTube or online manga pages. Reviewer thanks go out to **_Flower_**-san and _**Sakura**_-chan.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Eight

Tashigi: _Dreams_

I had been dreaming.

At least, I thought I was dreaming. I was with my parents, Smoker-oji and Tashigi-oba again. Saga-sensei was there too. We were celebrating my nineteenth birthday. There was a cake and everyone was smiling and happy. That's how I knew it had to be a dream.

Yet, somehow, I could feel that this was more than just that at first glance. I looked at my father, uncle and aunt and noticed scars on their skin that I had not remembered seeing before. There was a splotch on my uncle's chest above his heart, a faint line was going across my aunt's throat and my father's arms had faint circles around his skin. Saga-sensei seemed thinner, more gaunt than before. It was disturbing, to say the least.

"Ta-chan," my mother said, putting her hand on my shoulder. I jerked my head and looked at her. She seemed tired, like the last time I saw her alive.

"Yes Mom?"

"You have to be the one," she said. Her eyes became almost hollow. "You have to be the one to fulfill our dream."

"What dream?" I asked.

"The dream your father and I shared and swore upon years ago," my mother said. "We never set out on our journeys because of the death of my father, your grandfather, and instead ran the dojo. You came along and that was it. Now you have to be the one that will make the dream happen."

"What dream?" I asked again.

"Become the world's greatest swordsman," Saga-sensei said from across the table. I looked at Saga-sensei, whose face grew serious. "I also had that dream once, but I doubt that I can ever achieve it now. I am not dead yet, but close to it."

"Where are you Saga-sensei?!" I asked quickly, slamming my hands on the table. "I will come and get you, I promise! Just tell me where you are!" Saga-sensei smiled ruefully and sighed.

"Nowhere that you can survive," he said. "I am just glad that you are not here with me."

"Listen to me," my mother whispered in my ear. "Go and find the greatest swordsman in the world. Duel him. If you win, you will surely become the new champion and do what probably only your father and I had the potential to reach."

"…you could have left. You could have sent Dad. He could have made it. I remember him when he was training."

"He cared too much," she said. "He cared about me ever since I almost died when we were kids. If I had only died then, he might have been able to do something with his life."

"Don't say that!" I shouted. I stared at my mother, absolutely horrified. Without her, I would not exist. How could she say that? It hurt to hear those words. How much different would the world be without me? If my mother had died young, I doubt it would have made much a difference and the world would still be shit.

"You can do it," my mother said. I looked at my father, aunt and uncle. They were all still arguing to each other, seemingly not realizing what was going on. I could feel my arms suddenly bound to my side and my wrists and back felt chilled to the touch. I could not move a muscle. The scenery and people around me swirled in a mixture of color and voices until everything ran dark.

"Tashigi-chan!"

A voice rang in my ear, hoarse and harried.

"Tashigi-chan, are you awake?"

"Taisa…?" I asked. Slowly, my vision blurred back into existence. I still could not move, but now could tell that I was bound by rope and tough shackles. Something burned against my back, my scar flaring in pain.

"Tashigi-chan! You're awake!" Taisa cheered. The emotion in her voice was apparent. I expected a hug, but nothing came. "Thank Roger you're still alive!"

"Still alive? What's going on?" I asked. I still could not see clearly. I could make out the immensity of the room, faint figures in the distance and a torch stuck to the wall.

"We've been captured," Taisa said. "There was a surprise attack while we were sleeping."

"Why didn't the others warn us? Why didn't we wake up?"

"I don't know," she responded. Her voice changed. It was huskier and full of remorse and dread.

"Were are you?" I asked.

"On the other side of the pillar."

"You told me on the ship that you have a Devil's Fruit ability. Can you use it to get us out of here?"

"No. They're using seastone to cancel out my powers. I don't know how or why it exactly does it, but I'm stuck here because of it." Well, that explained the pain in my back. Some people have a sensitivity to seastone on old wounds, even if they do not possess Devil's Fruit abilities.

"Damn." Now I could see a little clearer. There was a small window on the other side of the room that allowed soft twilight to sink onto the floor. I saw the figures clearly. One of them was the woman from the greasy underground house. She was tied up and lying on the cement floor unconscious with what I believe to be a small trail of blood coming from her mouth. Her kid was there too, curled up asleep in some guy's arms. The five people who were aware and conscious were dressed in black. One was a woman. The others were the square-nosed man holding the kid, a large guy with hair that resembled horns, a stupid-looking guy that resembled a wolf and a man that caught my attention longer than the others. If he had not obviously been one of my captors or clearly old enough to be my father I would have most definitely found him attractive. There was something about him, something that drew me in. He was… forbiddenly enticing.

"These guys are here for us," Taisa said. I craned my neck to attempt to see her. "The rest of the crew have to get us before the time limit runs out."

"Which is when?"

"My guess, since it's light outside now, about an hour."

"No!" I suddenly found myself shouting, unable to control it. "I can't die! Not before I've achieved my dream!"

"Dream?" I heard someone laugh. It was the beautiful man, somehow having sped over towards the pillar. He held my chin and took a long look at my face before forcefully letting go, shoving my face away. "Dreams are for the weak. There is only power now. Only strength can hope to survive."

"The weak are not bred from who were probably the two strongest swordsmen of the entire East Blue and trained by their equal," I replied. "Dreams _and_ strength are in my blood and rearing." I heard him scoff and I spat in his face.

The man wiped the spittle from his cheek and sneered at me. Those eyes——so beautiful; yet I could have died by his gaze alone. My heart skipped a beat or two and my gaze was locked solidly into his. Yes, he could have killed me with only those beautiful, gleaming onyx eyes.

"I will be glad when I can eliminate you," he said before virtually dissipating from sight, returning to his place with the others. A stone dropped in my stomach. I was going to die. I was going to dishonor my parents, aunt, uncle and mentor by dying right here, tied to this pillar and unable to put up a good fight.

No…

* * *

Author's Notes

_Yeah, you read that right. A jerk vision and then Tashigi being attracted somewhat to Lucci. I am pure evil. Now we know though that Tashigi not only desires revenge, but the title her parents strove for._


	10. Damn that Ugly Rock

Since _**someone **_seems to be quite the champion at spotting these sorts of things, I have to confess something: I never even thought about Hattori or Gonbe when I was writing this story. Frankly, I don't really care about either of them. Yes, cruel of me, I know. PETA will never find me. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Butterfly**_-san, _**Flower**_-san and _**Sakura**_-chan, the latter-most I have to thank for a lovely little PM also. That was helpful and appreciated.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Nine

Ninjin: _Damn That Ugly Rock_

We fought a lot of people as we ran through the tunnels. It was dark and I felt tired. We never slept. Had to get Rika. Had to get the New Girl. Kappa wanted to be their hero. We stopped on our way for about ten minutes. Moda ate a rotten piece of fruit. She should be smarter than that. Tamanegi said he found a book that looked cool. After that, we hurried back to go to the girls.

Suddenly, we came to a really big room. There was a group of people dressed in black that had with them a boy and a woman. One of the guys in black was playing with the boy and the woman was sleeping. On the far side of the room was a pillar where Tashigi and Rika were tied up. That's her name. Tashigi.

"Untie your nakama!" said Paulie. Me and Piiman ran for the girls. One of the people in black popped up in front of us. He was big and strong-looking.

"Out of our way!" Piiman said. I raised my fists.

"No, out of my way!" said the guy. He looked stupid. Stupider than me. He ran at us and drove his finger into Piiman's shoulder.

That was one deadly poke.

Piiman screamed in pain and fell to the ground. His shoulder was bleeding. No one hurts my nakama! I ran at the man and tried to punch him. He muttered something, I think it was "tekkai" or "genkai" or something like that. His face was like a rock. A really ugly rock. I got it to bleed a little, but not much.

"Don't think that you can possibly defeat me using just insignificant punches such as that," he said. "We were sent to kill. We're not your average riffraff."

"Jyabura, enough," said someone. It was a woman. She looked sexy. Old, but sexy. She had a nice rack, what can I say?

"Whatever Kalifa," the stupid finger guy said.

"It seems like we're going to have a fun time here today," said another guy. He was smiling. Chabo looked like he was going to wet himself. These must have been the guys we were looking for.

Go time.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Ninjin is not the smartest in the bunch. He's not going to narrate often, just so that you know. Don't mind his comment about Kalifa. He is male and Kalifa has a big setup, after all. I mean, come on, even Nami commented on it. I'll probably update in a couple of days too, since this is way too short for me to feel good about. Maybe before the end of the weekend._


	11. Shell Shock

It's me again. Can't get rid of me, eh? I love all-nighters. I just recently pulled off two... in a row... and still worked... and cleaned the house... and geeked out with my Eiffel 65 CD... with just enough energy left to post. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to **_Sakura_**-chan, **_Flower_**-san, **_Butterfly_**-san and **_Dream_**-san. Oh, sorry to people who have automated email alerts. I was having techincal difficulties with this chapter. The site/server/fiction gods must be angry. I believe it is time to sacrifice a Sue-thor or hopeless 4Kids-tard again.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Ten

Moda: _Shell Shock_

I still had the nasty taste of that rotten fruit in my mouth when we ran into the large room that I assumed was the shipyard under the bridge. It was massive, probably big enough to build five galleons indoors... I think. Rika-san and Tashigi-chan were tied to a pillar about a hundred metres from the entrance, so Piiman-san and Ninjin-san ran to get them. One of the guys in black that had been guarding the room stopped them, making Piiman-san's shoulder spurt blood. A woman stopped him from hurting Ninjin-san, saying that wasting time on small fry was pointless.

"It seems like we're going to have a fun time here today," laughed the man who must have been the ringleader. Kappa-san stepped in front of me and drew some knives from his leather pouch.

"How dare you kidnap defenseless women and children," Kappa-san spat. The ringleader laughed.

"You call that defenseless?" he said sourly, pointing at Rika-san. "We have been ordered to kill her, as well as all of you. The additional bodies were just to spice things up." He raised his foot and flung it backwards. It was then that I realized a woman was lying unconscious on the ground behind him. I heard a child's scream. I'm sure that was Paulie-san's son, running up to the unconscious woman and crying. Paulie-san tried to run forward, but the man that was playing shadow games with the child upon our arrival blocked his path.

"He's ours now."

I stayed frozen as the rest of the gang began the battle without me. I stood there, clutching my staff in fright. I was never good at fighting and I think it was all anyone could do to not get destroyed by the scary people in black. The one who injured Piiman-san turned into a wolf. The one who blocked Paulie-san from his wife and son became a giraffe-man. The ringleader became a leopard. Another man that looked like a bull created portals out of thin air. The only woman in black never used an ability, but I knew she had one. I could see it in the way she blocked a punch from Ninjin-san with her foot, as if she had not required the skill for a long time. It was scary to watch. I didn't know what I should have done. Now I was regretting coming along in the first place.

Then I realized that Rika-san and Tashigi-chan were still tied to the pillar. I took off in a sprint, running towards the other girls. I picked up one of Kappa-san's knives as I ran. It almost cut me. Man does he keep them sharp!

"That a girl, Moda-chan!" Rika-san cheered. I was almost about to rescue my captain when I tripped and fell flat on my face, the knife sliding from my grasp. I looked towards my ankle and saw that a hand was coming out of a door in the floor.

"Don't you dare," chuckled a voice. Suddenly, the hand retreated and when I looked up, there was the leopard-man. I began to tremble. No, I can't fight. I won't fight. Fighting kills. The guys in the tunnel were different. They didn't have the ability to kill me, so I never killed any of them. This man, he had the desire to cause my death in his eyes and I was completely helpless against it.

The voices around me suddenly became muffled as I watched the man's eyes. I think Kappa-san called out my name… or was it Piiman-san? Maybe Tashigi-chan. I couldn't tell. I raised my arms to block him, though I knew it wasn't going to work. I watched in horror as the man held up a clawed hand and began to change. He slowly became human, the glint in his eyes retaining the madness. He was about to thrust down when he paused to stare at his hand. He looked from one hand, to the other, and back. The voices suddenly became clear again.

"Lucci! Your power!" the woman shouted. My head snapped in the direction of the rest of the battle and saw that the wolf-man and giraffe-man were normal-shaped again and the bull-guy was stomping on the floor, as if trying to open something or squish a really big bug.

"Your powers too!" gasped the woman. She extended her hand towards Chabo-san and shouted. "Sheep Cloud Relax Hour!" Nothing happened and her eyes grew wide.

"Looks like Fate's a little more in our favor now," Piiman-san chuckled. I looked over and saw that he was standing again, over by Rika-san, blood dripping down his arm. He had the knife I had dropped in his hand and sliced open the rope that held her and Tashigi-chan to the pillar. Rika-san immediately stretched her arms and laughed.

"Too bad for you guys, huh?" she smiled. She extended her arms and arched her fingers. I knew what was coming next. Death was now coming.

Yet it didn't.

"What?! Your powers don't work either!?" Tashigi-chan snapped as she retrieved her sword from Chabo-san. "Is it still the seastone!?"

"No! The seastone made me feel weak! This doesn't!" Rika-san replied. "It's almost like I never got my powers to begin with!"

Suddenly, I heard a cracking sound and the bodies of the woman and the bull man fell down on the ground. Rope had been wrapped around their necks in the confusion and they were dead, having their skulls collided without them realizing what was happening. I gasped as Paulie-san flicked his wrists and the rope unfurled and came back to him, a faint smile on his lips.

"Two down, three to go," he chuckled. The giraffe-man, wolf-man and leopard-man all glared at him as he ran over to his family. The boy hugged him and cried. I felt so sorry for the little kid. He was still so young and he had to watch all of this. When this was over, I swore to myself that I was going to give that poor boy a hug too and tell him that Auntie Moda is there for him and would make him all the chocolate-chip cookies he can eat.

"I don't need my ability to kill you!" roared the leopard-man. He charged at Paulie-san. The child screamed. I stood up on my feet, sure that I was crying. I reached out my hand and willed the leopard-man to stop his attack. It was useless, because he kept on going, determined to not stop for anything or anyone.

The small boy clung to the hem of his father's jacket and I knew things were not going to turn out well.

* * *

Author's Notes

Since I know I haven't explained it yet, Moda in the manga was originally the small girl from Ace's Blackbeard search mini-arc. I made her into a meek girl for reasons that in this fiction are currently unknown. She's not physically strong and is fairly timid and sensitive towards others, which makes her a rather less-than-willing fighter. She can also cook, which is highly important, and is also the main of Kappa's flirting-victims. I always found her character, from the moment I saw her in the manga, to be fairly adorable and I was quite glad I was able to think of her when I was pulling the all-nighter fic that spawned this.


	12. Flashback

Now, it is time for all the questions anyone has had about Paulie, Chimney, Little Thomas, etc and what happened to make them who and what they are. At least, I hope it is all answered. If not, I'm sure I can answer it in a review reply or something. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan and _**Flower**_-san, because they make me smile.

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**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Eleven

Paulie: _Flashback_

Fuck! Lucci just doesn't know when to quit! Even though, for some strange reason, he lost all of his Devil's Fruit power, he was still determined to kill me. Thomas was holding onto the bottom of my jacket as the fucking traitor came at us and Chimney still wasn't awake. In an instant, I saw images, felt emotions, relived past scenes that I knew were long committed to memory, as if I knew I was going to die. I was going to die, Chimney was going to die and Thomas would be orphaned, scarred forever. I was going to lose the family I had never expected to have and the life I never thought to have lived...

_It's twenty years ago, almost to the day. Kaku and I are working on a small caravel. Lucci comes up and helps us along. Kaku and I laugh when Lucci accidentally falls off the bow of the ship and falls into Tilestone. Those were the days, before everything happened that shouldn't have._

_I had just finished boarding up my apartment when one of the apprentice shipwrights came to get me. Iceburg-san had been shot in his own home. My stomach reached my mouth and all I knew were the mixed feelings of anger, surprise and worry. I ran all the way to Iceburg-san's house. I wanted to see him, but Kaku said that the doctor wouldn't allow it. Fuck._

_Flames. All I can see are flames. Peepley Lulu and Tilestone are holding me back. Word had gotten to me too late again. I cried out in anger. Iceburg-san was in there and with Aqua Laguna in only a few minutes, we needed to get to the shelters or die with Iceburg-san. I wanted to stay with Iceburg-san, or at least try to rescue him. I had to be knocked unconscious; otherwise I would have been kicking and screaming the entire way to the shelters and all throughout Aqua Laguna. That year, the storm was worse than usual. High ground was put underwater, amazing everyone who expected normalcy. They were fools though. To expect normalcy from an act of nature is about as sane as building a carrack out of toothpicks._

_The next day, the house was completely gone. Not even the charred timber frame survived. It had all been swept into the sea, not even leaving a body for a proper burial._

_I was lying on the bed in my one-room apartment, staring up at the ceiling. A week had passed since Aqua Laguna and the death of Iceburg-san. The city was in a panic trying to get together some sense of the mayor-less situation, while I was still trying to cope with the loss of my mentor. I had not been to work, nor done anything much than moping anyways. Suddenly, something catches my eye that never did before. An envelope is sitting on my desk that I do not remember putting there. I take and carefully open it. I nearly shit myself, for it is a letter from Iceburg-san, written in his handwriting and dated on the day of his death._

"Paulie, there is something grave that I need to tell you. It is about my old master Tom, about the Government, about the leader of the city's punk gang Franky.._."_

_I ran down to Franky House on the outskirts of town as fast as I could. If the letter was correct, then that meant that Franky had to get out of the city, right then and there. I burst through the door, only to find I was too late, __**again**__. Those punks, every last fucking one of them, lay on the ground, gash marks disfiguring them so much that their faces were unrecognizable and the skin had been torn off in chunks. I saw a group of four figures standing at the front of the room, all dressed in black, huddled around Franky's body. They turned and saw me. Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa and Blueno stared me down. Lucci had blood all down his front. One of the punks tried to stand up, not realizing that the killers were still there. Lucci immediately transformed into a huge leopard and bounded to bite the punk's neck. Terrified, I ran back to the city and tried to tell Tilestone and Peepley Lulu what I saw._

_They shook their heads and sighed, muttering to themselves about how they should have told me sooner. Apparently, the four people I had been talking about… went missing with Aqua Laguna._

_Tilestone, Peepley Lulu and I tried to keep Galley La together, but failed miserably. Tilestone was no diplomat, Peepley Lulu was no secretary and I was certainly no businessman. Pirates invaded without warning, the murderous kind at that, raping the city of all that was good. We shipwrights had met our match. It was painful for the city of my life to disintegrate before my eyes. As a last favor to Iceburg-san, the three of us moved out of the Galley La shipyard and into the little hole underground Chimney had dragged Kokoro into. The old woman was becoming sick with age and too unruly for a young adolescent girl to care for on her own. The letter left to me requested that we take care of Kokoro and Chimney, since Kokoro was the closest thing Iceburg-san had to a mother and Chimney had been just like a niece to him. This was, beyond logic, Iceburg-san's family. We became part of the family, no more and no less dysfunctional than the rest of the makeshift families that were now the norm. As the city quickly crumbled into destitute conditions, we were obliged to stick together. Our routines were formed around caring for Kokoro, who became more and more senile as the years passed, and the futile attempt to eke out a living from nothing._

_I was sitting up one night shortly after Chimney's coming-of-age, waiting for Tilestone, Peepley Lulu and Chimney to come home. They had been the ones to go out for the day, leaving me alone with the delusional old woman. I knew that sometimes, "going out for the day" usually meant not coming home until well after dark, but the clock on the wall was getting closer to eight, the time for the evening curfew. Eight o'clock passed… nine… ten… the hour hand approached eleven. Being this late was unlike them. Carefully, I made sure that Kokoro was soundly asleep before I crept up towards the stairs that led to the surface. I slunk out into the shadows of the city. Where were they? Fuckers._

_I remember wanting to scream when I found them on the other side of town. Tilestone and Peepley Lulu were both on the cobblestone alley unconscious. Chimney was crying in the corner, her clothes ripped to shreds. The groceries that had supposed to have been back at the house hours ago were all over the ground. Tilestone's legs had been smashed and Peepley Lulu's skull was bleeding. Chimney wouldn't let me touch her arm. Hell, she wouldn't even look me in the face. We were only barely able to drag Tilestone and Peepley Lulu back to the house. No use calling the police force. We had been the police force before the anarchy. Fighting back was useless._

_Chimney wouldn't stop crying. It had been almost two months since her, Tilestone and Peepley Lulu were surprise-attacked in the alleyway. Tilestone was just starting to calm down over not being able to walk anymore and it was apparent that Peepley Lulu would never be the same, having upon woken up taken on the personality of someone named "Freddy" that sang a lot, but Chimney did not seem like she was recovering at all. She kept on throwing up and wouldn't talk to me. She stayed shut up in my bedroom of all places, mostly because it had a lock on the door, and refused to come out unless she knew she was the only one awake. I called the doctor back and once we convinced her it was alright, she allowed an examination. The old coot probably assumed things, because when he left the room, he smiled at me and said that her and I were "lucky". Once he left I slowly opened the door to my room, only to have Chimney almost fall into my arms, crying about how she was so sorry for being "dirty". At that moment, I knew what had really happened in that alley and it was all I could do to only stand there and comfort her. She cried in my arms for so long that she nearly fell asleep and I had to lay her down on my bed so that she could sleep, holding my hand in terror. That night was the first of many where I would fall asleep with her in my lap, arms wrapped protectively around her._

_About seven months or so after that she had Thomas, naming him after the grandest man the city of Water 7 ever had been home to. By then we were married, only by the twisted, fucked up verison of law that had come to exist. I had to make sure that she did not seem like some sort of whore and it was the only thing I could have done. I forced myself to grow used to wearing the ring and the fact I was tied to a woman I shared a bed with for only sleeping purposes. If it had not been for that shit child, I would have never married. Women are shameless and men are disgusting. I would have been perfectly happy being alone my entire life, but suddenly I found myself worse than alone by being with a woman I never wanted to begin with._

_Years ago I would have never thought that I could find my future self holding a sleeping Chimney in my arms at night, only for her own warmth and security, or that in order to play nice for her kid that she would kiss me and have him call me Dad. I had been resigned to "playing house" in my own home. It was sickening, but I did it for the sake of Thomas. He needed something normal in his life, even if it was only on the surface. I grew used to that too, just like my wedding ring. I think by the time Thomas was three it came natural to treat Chimney as if I had married her for love and not honor, sometimes not even realizing that I created emotions inside myself for her. Maybe I did love her all this time, but just never wanted to think about it because of our ages. Tilestone actually called it "cute" to my face once. Bastard. Even after I took care of him in all his cripple's glory, he still had the nerve to tease me. Fucking ingrate._

Suddenly, my life was over and Lucci was upon me. There was almost no time to react at this point in the charge. I did the only thing I could think of and raised my foot in order to stop him. Yeah, I fucking kicked Lucci right in the gut.

The amazing part is though, I think it worked. Lucci stopped and slumped to the ground, clutching his gut and doubled over in pain.

"Are you really that much of an idiot!?" yelled the one I didn't recognize. "Why didn't you use tekkai!?"

"I tried!" Lucci coughed. He spat a mixture of spit and blood onto the ground by my feet. I could hear a sign of struggle in his voice.

What the fuck happened to Lucci?

* * *

Author's Notes

_Obviously, this was a difficult chapter to even think about writing. In the original fanfiction, I never mentioned anything about Water 7's fall into destitution and only briefly touched it before this chapter. I tried to make the disintegration of Water 7 to be as realistic as possible. Also, Paulie's character is one that would do things in order to protect the honor of another, which is another concept that I wanted to convey. His relationship with Chimney then, was from the beginning one that had foundations on being cousin/cousin or uncle/niece in origin but obviously became complicated with time. Since Chimney is so much younger than he is, I would assume that she would also want him for mental and physical security once the two of them begin playing marriage. My bet is that since he is protecting her, she would cling to him like nothing else, simply for some sort of stability. Her character in here has been through a lot and hopefully, is not too... blah. That would suck if she sucked._

_...and you read right, Lulu wants to be Freddy Mercury. The only reason I did this is his odd resemblance to the late singer, particularly the Cromartie High version. Am I the only one who sees the resemblance or are there other crazy people out there like me?_


	13. Devil's Fruit

Hmm... there was something that I had wanted to type, but I forgot it. This sort of thing happens way too often. I think it might have had something to do with this story, but I guess I'll remember sooner or later. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Flower**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan and _**Butterfly**_-san, because they give me awesome support and made me feel better about the last chapter, the writing of which was a little more than awkward.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twelve

Tamanegi: _Devil's Fruit_

I thought that for sure Paulie and Lucci were going to square off in a fight to the death when Paulie leveled his leg in the air. Lucci collided firmly with the booted foot though, creating a surprise that shook the rest of the people in black.

I knew that from the moment we first saw the captain's captors that we would be in over our heads. They were famed throughout the Grand Line as government agents turned assassins. There were reportedly three other members, but throughout the years they have succumbed to either disease or "accidental murder". Never had I thought that they were once the Government's secret fighting force, yet once I gazed upon them with my own eyes, I knew in an instant that Paulie was correct. Every one of them appeared to be in their forties at the least, but they still appeared and acted like killing machines half their ages. Rumor and many different personal accounts floating around had created the legend that they were speedier than quicksilver, strong enough to shatter boulders with their fists and possessed skin tougher than both diamonds and seastone.

It was a short ways into the melee when I had noticed something peculiar. Moda had been running and was struck down by one of the assassins, while being confronted by another. She appeared supremely frightened by the man's model of the Neko-Neko no Mi and when he went to advance, she raised her hands in fright. Immediately, his ability faded back into the recesses of his skin, leaving only the human facade of a killer. Paulie had used this time of confusion to wrap the lengths of rope around the necks of two of the other now powerless Devil's Fruit users and crash their heads together. He did not wait around to watch the greyish matter ooze from their ears before he ran over to the unconscious woman and the child who I had assumed to be his wife and son. The Leopard Man charged at Paulie and I heard Moda cry out. Paulie, assuringly going on instinct, kicked upwards in an effort to block that would probably turn out useless. To everyone's surprise, the Leopard Man ended up doubled-over on the ground.

I examined the situation carefully. Everyone else in the room that had been granted Devil's Fruit abilities had been freed of them, Rika included. To make matters more confusing, none of those effected were currently in contact with seastone. The Leopard Man began wildly punching at Paulie, who in turn tried to counter with his rope tricks. When the tricks failed, Paulie too reverted to his bare fists. It was barbaric. Everyone had been stripped of their abilities, acquired through the magic of the Devil or through their own personal training.

That was it!

"Moda!" I shouted firmly. The young woman stared at me in fright. I had never used such a tone with her in the months I've known her and I am certain that it took her by surprise. "Concentrate on the man Paulie is fighting!"

"...but...!"

"DO IT!" I screamed. Sure enough, Once Moda locked her eyes on the Leopard Man and her brow furrowed in a timid form of concentration, the two remaining enemies quickly morphed into their wolf and giraffe forms, as if they had been struggling to do so the entire time and were finally set free into a spiral.

"Ha! We can use our abilities again!" cackled the wolf. I smiled as he and the giraffe melded into their half-anthro forms.

Now I was certain of what was going on. Moda, in her pure innocence, accidentally ate a Devil's Fruit. She had consumed a piece of fruit while we caught our breath in the underground tunnel system that she believed to be rotten after tasting. It was by sheer providence and luck that she must have picked up the Zero-Zero no Mi. It is one of the two Fruits rumored to actually effect the ability of another Devil's Fruit user. One of the Fruits, the Cho-Cho no Mi is supposed to amplify the natural and Fruit-given abilities of others, while the other, the Zero-Zero no Mi is supposed to negate the action. Since childhood I have been studying all I could about the world and what was in it. Now it was paying off.

"Now it is time to finish the job our employer requests of us," said the Giraffe Man. He took a step forward and froze. The Wolf Man failed to take even a single pace forward.

"Not so fast," murmured Rika. I could see her standing behind the Wolf Man and the Giraffe Man, her eyes a milky-white and her left hand extended towards the two men. Her fingers were spread and crooked and a smile rested lopsidedly on her lips.

"Is this the Devil's Fruit ability you said to have, Taisa?" asked Tashigi almost warily, this being the first time she had seen our captain's power first hand in battle. Rika's smile disappeared.

"Of course it is." Her head snapped in the direction of the scuffle between Paulie and the Leopard Man and raised her other arm. Spreading apart her fingers, she jerked her hand upwards and the Leopard Man rose into the air.

"Make sure Little Thomas doesn't see!" shouted Chabo. Paulie, who appeared rather confused, bolted back towards his son and held him close, keeping the child's face in his chest and his own fixated on the floating man. Kappa took this as his cue to begin throwing his knives at the Leopard Man's floating body. The small blades sunk into their target with ease, taking his life almost instantly. I held my own, keeping my squeamishness over the blades private. Different sorts of digestive fluids mixed with blood seeped from the wounds to the abdomen and vitreous fluid came from where one of the knives collided with an eye. Even standing as far back as I was, I could see the shocked expression on the man's face as he was introduced to Death.

"No! Lucci! What in the hell are you doing to him!?" shouted the Wolf Man. "Why can't he fight back!?"

"...because of our new-found advantage," I replied. Once Leopard Man's body dropped to the ground, I pointed towards them and raised my voice. "Moda, now concentrate on the two of them."

"What...?" she asked softly, clearly frightened. "You mean I'm the one doing something?" She was shaking, but I knew that I had to make her do this.

"Just concentrate on the two men that are left. Do not pay Rika any heed; just the two men," I ordered. Moda squeaked and sure enough, the Wolf Man and Giraffe Man reverted to their human forms. Piiman stepped forward with his pistol, ready to take on the now-defenseless men, but was halted by Tashigi.

"Let me take care of these two," she said as she drew her sword. A moment later, she had sliced open the abdomen of the silent Giraffe Man. Rika relaxed her grip and he fell to the floor dead. Now only the Wolf Man remained.

"Please! Don't kill me! I'll do anything!" he cried out as Tashigi slunk in front of him. Sweat poured from his brow as Tashigi raised her sword into an attack position. "I'll do absolutely anything!"

"Serves you right, you creep," Rika said blandly as Tashigi ran her sword into his stomach, twisting it as it split his skin. She thrust the blade upwards and a mighty splash of blood was accompanied by the former assassin's final howl. Rika released him too and finally, we were all safe.

"Hey, let's get out of here," said Piiman. I silently agreed and we headed towards the exit, I helping to support Piiman who had been almost on the verge of passing out due to lack of blood. Rika had to gently take Moda by the wrist, as the meeker female was standing in shock, staring at the bodies with wide, watery eyes. Ninjin assisted Paulie by carrying the still-unconscious form of his wife while the elder man still held his softly sobbing son. Kappa followed only after he and Tashigi finished wrenching the knives out of the Leopard Man's corpse.

One more assassination attempt behind us.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Now, normally, I dislike the creation of Devil's Fruits in fanfictions unless used for a temporary or comedic purpose (Lieju's "Marimo Fruit" is an acceptable version of such a fanfiction). This is because I'm sort of anal-retentive, but also because I am not a fan of essentially "pimping out", "juicing up" or "powerfully gifting" OCs and/or other characters and sometimes Devil's Fruit that are taken are used. This time, the ability that is given, although has an incredible strong point, had its trump somewhere out there. Also, with the fact that the user of the Zero-Zero no Mi is, well, Moda, it will be very stressful on the user. Now Rika on the other hand, I did actually base this on the ability I gave my Heroes OC. There is a catch to her power as well, which will come up and will be completely fanon once explained in full. Let's just say it's one of the things that (hopefully) helps make this fiction rated Mature._


	14. The Aftermath

Uhh... yeah. I'm updating and have nothing else to say about it. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to, _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Flower**_-san and _**Butterfly**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirteen

Piiman: _The Aftermath_

It hurt as Rika patched up my wound. I don't know what exactly it was that made that guy able to put a hole right through me with his finger, but it whatever it was did the job right.

It was about midday and we were in the sitting room in Paulie's house. It smelled funny, was kind of dirty and there were dead people in it. Paulie said he was going to take care of the dead people situation after dark, but for now had them in the corner of the room with a blanket covering them so that the little kid did not see if he came in. Besides, he was in the kitchen with Moda baking some cookies. I hope I get some cookies too. Kappa was in the kitchen too, probably teaching the kid how to flirt with Moda. Ninjin and Tashigi were both asleep on opposite ends of a couch.

It had been a very weird process, getting back to the relative safety of Paulie's underground house. Most of were still not used to traveling in underground passageways and Tamanegi and I almost got lost. Rika and Moda actually _did_ get lost. We had to dodge the dodgy characters that were beginning to crawl out of the woodwork as more normal hours for business came about. Hee-hee. Dodgy. Once we were on the surface again, it was even weirder, since the first time I saw Water 7 was at night. We all got back to the house alright though, even if Rika did scream when a spider landed on her arm.

"So tell me, how good is that four-eyed guy with medicine?" Paulie asked us. Tamanegi was in another room, working on reviving Paulie's wife Chimney. What a funny name, Chimney. Anyways, Paulie looked very worried. I guess I would be worried too, if it were one of my nakama or if I had been lucky enough to get married.

"He's pretty good," Rika answered. "Truthfully, he's an authentic Renaissance man. There's more than one instance where his skills has saved our lives."

"You better be right about that," Paulie said. He was kind of angry when he said it, but I don't think he meant it. Oh, I can smell the cookies!

"Don't you worry, she'll be fine," Chabo reassured. For some reason, I could see that there was something between Chabo and Paulie that was sort of close to... eh... I don't know how to explain it. What it did, though, was calm Paulie down enough so that when Tamanegi did open the door to the room Chimney was in at the end of the hall, he only moved to the edge of his seat and not to his feet.

"Well?" Paulie asked.

"She should wake up pretty soon," Tamanegi said. I don't think Paulie could have looked happier. "There was a fairly large laceration on her hairline from being knocked out, but other than that, there were no serious injuries. You can see her, if you want..."

Without a word, Paulie jumped onto his feet and walked past Tamanegi into the room. From the angle I was at, I could see as he rushed over to a bed that I presumed had Chimney in it and he sat down on the edge. After that is a mystery, because Tamanegi closed the door.

"Let them have some privacy," he said as he came into the sitting room and sat down in the chair that had been occupied by Paulie. He sighed and sniffed the air. "Smells like Moda is burning something again."

"I bet it's just the oven," Rika laughed. We all gave our own slight chuckles and smiled slightly. It was the joke that whenever Moda was making something to eat she was "burning" it, since that's mainly what Rika did whenever she made food other than cookies and rice balls, much to everyone else's chagrin. Hee-hee. I like that word... chagrin. Tamanegi taught me that one. He's good at big words like that.

"You know, we were really worried about you," Tamanegi said dully. Rika stopped smiling and looked back at him seriously.

"I know," she said.

"Without you, we can no longer be the Mugiwara Kaizokudan," I added. She made a sound that was barely a laugh.

"Yeah, well, some captain I am. I nearly died, along with our newest member, plus I was part of what scared the holy hell out of Moda. That's the only reason why she's baking right now."

"Don't blame yourself," Chabo said. "I carry some of that guilt too. You, me, even Swordslady Tashigi..."

"If you would have never needed to get me, Moda would have never eaten that Fruit and she would still be normal, happy Moda. Getting a Devil's Fruit changes one's entire outlook on life, especially a pirate's. I've been a bad captain to let this happen."

"No, you have just proven that you still have your humanity," Tamanegi said. "Human beings make mistakes and admit to them. You did wrong and are now admitting to the fact. That is what separates us from the rest of the goons in the world."

"Time for cookies!" shouted Kappa and Thomas as they ran down the hallway, each holding a platter of misshapen chocolate chip cookies. Both were covered in batter and were grinning widely. Thomas did not seem to notice the large, blanketed lump in the far corner of the room, having bought the lie that the three old folks were "on vacation".

"Oh, how thoughtful," Rika smiled, taking a cookie from Thomas's platter and patting the boy on the head. He turned red and giggled.

"Auntie Moda taught me how!" he grinned. "Uncle Kappa helped too, but he made a really big mess."

"It's not really my fault, squirt," Kappa muttered through clenched teeth. Thomas just smiled up at him and ran back into the kitchen.

"How's she doing?" Chabo asked. Kappa sighed and shoved the platter of cookies in my hands. Yay! Cookies! I took a bite and knew that these really were all Moda's doing. I can recognize her baking anywhere. Whenever she walks into a kitchen, the end result is always yummy.

"She seems to be holding up alright," Kappa replied, leaning up against the wall. "When she opened a drawer and found knives though, she went spastic. It was a shame that in order to concentrate that power of hers, she has to stare at the person intended. She didn't need to see those deaths like that."

"It would help if she could talk about what she's seen in the past," Rika sighed, finishing off her cookie. "She doesn't even tell me anything, and we share a bedroom on the ship."

"Then let's make sure that we watch out for her as much as possible, okay?" Kappa suggested. Everyone else silently nodded in agreement and we bumped fists as a sign of it being "official" or something like that. All I knew is that I really liked the cookies Moda made and wanted to make sure that she would always still be around to make more. Cookies; delicious. Then everyone else kind of attacked me for the cookies I was eating. My cookies.

"You know," Chabo said as the attack receded, "I'm surprised that Mr Paulie is acting like this."

"Why do you say that?" Tamanegi asked, mouth half-full with cookie. "Did he have different mannerisms towards her before?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, he was kind of pissed off before," Rika said. "I mean, under the circumstances and all, this is a fairly big switch. I don't doubt that he cared for her before this, but after her being kidnaped, he had to of been horrified of losing her and Thomas like that."

"What are you talking about with 'circumstances'?" Tamanegi asked.

"We'll tell ya when the younger ears aren't likely to run in here any second," Chabo said with a nod. He was just in time too, because Thomas returned with Moda and more cookies in tow. We all attacked the small kid with the baked goods and complimented Moda on another batch well-made. She smiled and thanked us in return, even though I could tell she was crying on the inside. Moda was never born to fight. The life of a pirate is not one for her, nor do I believe that it ever will be. She's too nice a person. Me, well, I don't know. Maybe this is my true calling. Hell, I'm a much better pirate than I am a carpenter... even if it does leave me remorseful at night. I don't like killing either. That's why I resolved myself to bugging Paulie to build us a ship after he comes back from visiting Chimney. If we don't get to Raftel, find One Piece and restore the World Order, none of us, including Moda, can ever be ourselves. We can never live the lives we were intended to live.

I took another bite of cookie and cried on the inside. Only on the inside. If I cried on the outside, I knew that Kappa could only call me a fag again. He's so mean sometimes.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Yeah. Piiman was the character where I tried to write using stream of consciousness, but it kind of failed. Now, it is a very crappy attempt at stream of consciousness, plagued by cookies and giggling at words. I also realize that Thomas has to believe that something is up with the lack of three people who are currently dead, but I figured that if he's just kept out of the room for most of the time, he won't notice a thing. I wouldn't._


	15. My Wife

Techno, techno, I love me some techno! I also love me some interesting special edition Halo 3 version of Mountain Dew. Techno and Dew just has to be OTP somewhere, I know it is. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Flower**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**that-person-who-is-clearly-a-KH-fan**_. Warning for all those who still see Chimney only as a kid: this chapter might seem wrong. Really, _**really**_ wrong. You have been warned.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fourteen

Paulie: _My Wife_

I sat on the edge of the bed, stroking Chimney's hair. I could hear the deep, raspy rhythm of her breathing. Sweat was pouring from her forehead. That kid, Tamanegi, he never said anything about her possibly running a fever. Damn it all. I want her to get better, not fucking worse.

If she wakes up from this, I am building that ship for the pirates. Without them, the assholes that fucked up my life would probably still be alive. Chimney and I would be dead and Kaku would be playing mother to my son. My son. Not Chimney's son, but _our _son. I don't care anymore. Everyone on the surface already thinks it was me who knocked her up. I never want to lose my wife and son again.

I shifted uncomfortably and sat more solidly on the bed. Chimney groaned and her eyelids creaked open.

"Paulie...?"

"I'm here," I responded, doing my best to sound kind. No one was going to hurt her, ever.

"Was I dreaming or did I really see Mr Lucci? I think Mr Kaku, Mr Blueno and Miss Kalifa were there too."

"They were there," I sighed. Gingerly, Chimney sat up. Her eyes seemed slightly out of focus, but they still were open.

"Where did they go? I thought that they died in Aqua Laguna when Mr Iceburg did."

"Everyone thought they did," I replied. Maybe I should have told her what I had known sooner, then this would not have to be so hard for me to do. "They were really government agents working undercover. They were the ones who killed Iceburg-san and do you remember that there was a punk guy named Franky that ran around the city? They killed him too. Now they're dead."

"Dead?" Chimney asked. "How? When? What happened?" She held her head in pain and gasped when her fingers ran over her sewn up skin. I took a deep breath and stubbed out my cigar on the ashtray on the night stand.

"They kidnaped you, Thomas and two of the girl-pirates. The pirates all have a warrant out for their death because that dick Rizado thinks they are threatening to his rule. Finding us with the pirates was obviously just some sort of fun to them. Chabo and I ran back to the ship, got the rest of their group and we killed those bastards. They're dead and you're now safe."

"Where's Grandma?"

Fuck. I had to just tell her. Nothing would change what had happened; nothing _could_ change it. I can't lie to her like I can lie to Thomas.

"She's..." I hesitated, "...dead."

"Grandma...? Why? When?" Chimney replied. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes and I knew this wasn't going to turn out good. I put my hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"When you were kidnaped, they killed Kokoro, Tilestone and Peepley Lulu. It was an ambush and all of us were absolutely powerless to stop it."

She broke down and was now crying in full force. I took her light frame in my arms and she cried there, fisting my shirt in anguish. I felt like shit. Kokoro was the only blood family she still associated with life before the death of the city. Now she didn't even have Tilestone or Peepley Lulu either. Just Thomas and me, the child and husband she never wanted, symbols of how cruel the world could be if it catches you off-guard. I kissed her forehead and began to stroke her hair again. She calmed down a little, but I could still feel her hot tears soaking into my shirt. Neither of us deserved this.

Carefully, I shifted my weight so that I was lying down on the bed. Chimney rolled off my chest so that she was next to me, resting in the crook of my elbow. I closed my eyes and sighed heavily.

"Paulie...?" Chimney's voice was weak and shaky. She was trying not to cry anymore.

"Yeah?"

"What are we going to do now?"

That was a good question. What were we going to do? The main reasons for us to have stayed settled for so long were now dead. I knew I was going to build that ship now, but what about afterwards?

Wait... I already decided, didn't I?

"I'm going to build that ship the pirates want," I said with a slight chuckle. "...but first, they need to take us to a different island. It has to be one that's safe and out of sight, otherwise I'll refuse to build their ship. Before anything else, we need to get you and Thomas to safety."

"Why do you still do this?" she asked. "You have no more obligation to me or my son now that the others are gone. You never had an obligation to me."

"Yes I do."

"No you don't."

"I'm your husband and he's our kid. I'd be a shit-sorry excuse for a man if I left you two all alone in this hell hole city."

"Paulie...!?" Chimney gasped, probably because it was the first time she heard me refer to Thomas as ours instead of hers in private. I shifted onto my side and wrapped my arm around her to pull her in close. I could smell her hair. It was like apricots and that smell my cigars leave everywhere. Maybe I was overdoing it a little, but I had to let her know that I was going to fix things. I am her husband after all.

"Then maybe, after we've settled down, I can start to love you like a real husband should, if that's alright with you," I added. She made another squeaking sound and I laughed. Sure it would be weird at first, more like fucking messed up, that we would be a valid couple, but that over possibly losing Chimney and Thomas again would be nothing. I got used to playing marriage, so maybe the real thing wouldn't be too far off–––except this time I'll probably get some sex in every once in a while. Being married with no sex is just fucking pointless, even I know that, no matter how prudish people tell me I am.

"Paulie," Chimney said, half-sobbing, "I don't deserve you."

"I don't deserve you either," I replied. "Just please do me a favor, okay?"

"What?"

"Don't tell those kids out there I'm like this. I'd never be able to look them in the eye again," I chuckled. She giggled, assuring me she would keep this between us. I don't need those shits teasing me. I can kick their asses. Well, not that one girl's. I'd feel wrong about hurting her since she's so much smaller and the best mean face she can make isn't very frightening. The others are fair game, including the captain.

I rolled onto my back again and went to sleep with my wife curled up at my side.

* * *

Author's Notes

_One of the few places where I could have explored the concept of porn, yet refrained. Instead, I showed that Paulie, although outwardly tough in public, can drop his wall when alone. Plus, I probably gave you all a bad image in your brains with the Paulie/Chimney that's going on. -double point- Score._ _Hey, you were warned._


	16. Requiem for A Life Long Lost

School and work are a drag. I can work around one or the other, but barely both. I have so much that I want to do, but school and work come first. Meh. I guess that's life. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Flower**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fifteen

Chabo: _Requiem for a Life Long Lost_

That night, we laid the three bodies from Mr Paulie's sitting room to rest in the sea. When Ms Chimney's grandma touched the water, her body turned into foam and disappeared. Ms Chimney said that it is because she was a mermaid. I have to believe her, because I've never seen a _mermaid _before in my life, so I have no idea as to what they look like. Mr Paulie and Ms Chimney were both really sad. Little Thomas wasn't there, because we waited until late at night, after he was asleep, to do anything with the bodies. He wouldn't have taken it well anyways. Children are so fragile, especially nowadays. It's better for him for now.

Afterwards, we went back into the sitting room and all sat in sort of a circle because Mr Paulie wanted to tell us something.

"I will build you your ship," he said, his voice heavy from the makeshift burials. "You have convinced me that you guys deserve it. If you can off the guys that fucked this place up, there's something special about you."

"Really?" Captain Rika asked happily, quickly bringing her hands up to cover her mouth. She turned to me and tugged on my shirtsleeve excitedly. "We're gonna have a ship!"

"There is a condition though," Mr Paulie said. He glanced over all of us to make sure that we were paying attention.

"Of course there's a condition," Kappa-kun said. "How much extra money do you need?"

"I need you to take us to a different island," Mr Paulie said. His face suddenly became expressionless. "There is nothing holding us down here now. This city is too dangerous and I want to move my family out of here before I even shape the keel."

"That's a big request," Piiman said. "We don't even know if we can get to the next island, let alone far enough to be out of the city's grasp."

"I'll fix your ship enough to get us as far as we need to. After that, you have to give me a week and you'll have yourselves a new ship. I can even train you to repair it, just like a real carpenter."

"…but the condition of our current ship…" Tamanegi started. Fortunately, he was cut off by Captain Rika.

"It's a deal," she said, standing up proudly and holding out her hand. "Tomorrow, the Mugiwara Kaizokudan will sail and bring you three to a new island. Promise." Mr Paulie took her hand and they shook. Ms Chimney seemed very relieved that Captain Rika accepted so readily.

The rest of the night, we could barely sleep. It probably wasn't a very good thing, considering that probably only Little Thomas, Ninjin, Ms Chimney and Swordslady Tashigi had been able to get some sleep since the incident. By morning, Ms Chimney had finished collecting the small, important personal items the family owned around the house and Mr Paulie had gone back to the ship and deemed it safe for travel for only a while longer. We woke up Little Thomas, told him to bring his favorite toy, and left the little house under the city for good.

It was strange having Mr Paulie and his family on our ship for the first couple of days, but we quickly got used to it. There was soon an endless supply of Miss Moda's chocolate chip cookies, Little Thomas and Piiman eating the most of them. Mr Paulie and Ms Chimney seemed to be a bit closer than when I had first met them, which I didn't really mind, since they are married and all. Kappa-kun minded though. I think he was just angry that it wasn't him and Captain Rika. He likes her; I know it, since he treats her differently than Miss Moda and Swordslady Tashigi. I like Captain Rika too, but I don't think she's the kind to want to be with someone right now, especially if it's one of her shipmates. Besides, Kappa-kun's too much a flirt and I'm pretty sure she thinks of me like a brother. Kind of pointless with me liking her then, huh?

Anyways, it took about a month for us to get to an island that Captain Rika deemed "safe" for us to leave Mr Paulie and his family on. There was a little village there by the seaside on a springtime isle that had very friendly citizens. At first they were wary because we flew a jolly roger, but I think when they saw Miss Moda and Captain Rika playing with Little Thomas on the beach, they lightened their views on us. There had been a group of bandits plaguing their town before we came and I was sure that when we arrived, we seemed like the answer to all their problems. Mr Paulie, Ms Chimney and Little Thomas were able to move into the only spare house in the village, the previous occupant having died a kindly old lady that clearly smelled like gingersnap cookies and tea leaves a few months beforehand. It was perfect for them.

That was when Mr Paulie began building the greatest ship I had ever seen. It was the greatest ship any of us had ever seen, even the villagers. Mr Paulie built it right there on the beach and got permission to use the trees from the nearby forest. With those trees and skills he only could have inherited from the greatest shipwright of all time, he built us a grand clipper, wider than any I had seen before. There were three masts that were rigged with two huge sails each. The kitchen was massive and the amount of rooms underneath in the hold seemed almost impossible. I was amazed as I saw the finished result. It was late in the day, too late to set sail, and exactly a week after Mr Paulie began building.

Our ship was incredible, but the next day as we loaded it up with our belongings and supplies, something felt like it was not right. A certain sort of gloom hung in the air. I think it came from the villagers. While we were waiting for Mr Paulie to finish building our ship, we all had helped out around the small town and by doing so became almost a part of it. Piiman, Ninjin and I had helped fix up the house for Ms Chimney and afterwards did small odd jobs around town. Tamanegi didn't really help anyone, but he did take a great interest with the local library, befriending the lady librarian there. Miss Moda and Captain Rika had played with Little Thomas and the other town children by making them sweets and putting on string-less puppet shows starring their favorite stuffed animals. Swordslady Tashigi went out hunting bandits, making sure that the village would not be bothered for a long time to come. Kappa-kun would sort of flit from flirting with Miss Moda to flirting with Swordslady Tashigi, and when he finally was threatened with meeting the sharp end of her sword, he went over to flirt with the village girls. From all the activity we created, I could see newfound enthusiasm building in the regular villagers over our presence and the excitement we created. It made me guilty to go.

"Are you sure you want to leave so soon?" Ms Chimney asked as we were almost ready to leave. Captain Rika looked at her and gave a weak smile.

"Of course. I told you I'm gonna find One Piece and be Pirate King, right?" she said with barely a laugh. Ms Chimney smiled sadly and nodded her head. I was standing next to Captain Rika on the ship. The rest of the village was there at the wharf too, but only Ms Chimney and Little Thomas were on the dock to see us off. Everyone in the crew was already on board and all we were waiting for was one person.

"Hey, where's that husband of yours?" Kappa-kun asked rather loudly over the side of the ship. Ms Chimney gave another sad smile and this time, Little Thomas answered.

"Dad's at home sleeping!" he shouted, his face genuinely happy. "He was really tired when he came home last night that he hasn't woken up yet!" I could have sworn I saw a little bit of an embarrassed look on Ms Chimney's face, but it could have been the way the clouds were playing with the light.

"Would he not want to see all his hard work again for one last time?" Tamanegi asked. Ms Chimney shook her head.

"He knows that you have it and that you are going to take good care of the ship. That is all that matters." This time, her smile was sincere.

"That's it!" Piiman shouted suddenly.

"What's it?" Captain Rika asked. I don't think Piiman heard her though. He ran up the stairs to the rear deck and jumped off, landing in the crowd of villagers. I thought it was a pretty mean feat, since he must have come down about fifty feet from the ship itself. Once his feet made contact with the ground though, he began taking off in a sprint, faster than I've ever seen him run before.

"Hey, looks like the pirates are coming," laughed Ninjin. Tamanegi chuckled too, smiling widely.

"Indeed," he replied. "Indeed."

* * *

Author's Notes

_I hope you enjoyed that half of the transition. More to come next chapter, including what in the hell came over Piiman. I feel bad because I have nothing else to say._


	17. Setting Sail

Okay, I finally did it. I drew a picture of Chimney as an adult. Albeit it is a very crappy picture of Chimney and I know that I can obviously do better, but it's there. I have a link on my user page, as well as a link to a picture of Kappa and special-happy-fun-time-spoiler picture to ponder over... and I colored the picture of Chabo. Yeah, Chabo. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Flower**_-san, _**KH**_-otaku and also apologies out to _**Sakura**_-chan, because I think I was rambling in my last review reply. I can't remember. Forgive me. -bow-

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Sixteen

Piiman: _Setting Sail_

We can't leave yet. No, we can't. Something has to be done that hasn't yet. It's way too important to let fly past us. I needed to do it right then and there. Now.

I ran as fast as I could back to the house I helped to fix up for Ms Chimney and threw the door open. I knew the house pretty well, so I knew exactly which room to run into. I found Paulie still asleep in bed, probably still exhausted from the almost a week straight he spent building the ship. He grunted something and took one of the pillows and shoved it over his head.

"Get up!" I yelled. Another grunt and Paulie didn't move. I did the only thing I could and yanked the blanket off of him, exposing his skin and boxer shorts to the chilly morning air.

"What in the HELL!?" he roared, jolting upwards. When he saw that it was me, I'm pretty sure that he was pissed off, because he lunged at me, grabbing for my throat.

"Why aren't you down at the ship!?" I asked.

"…because I was fucking SLEEPING!"

"It's where you belong!"

"What the _fuck_ are you talking about!?" Paulie got a solid grip on my throat and suddenly I found myself thrown up against the wall, held in place by one large, calloused hand.

"You need to be down there at the wharf with us," I squeaked. Ow, ow, hand… cutting off air, ow, ow…

"You have your ship, now let me be with my family," he said with a snarl. He let go and I fell to the ground, able to breathe again. I coughed up a little bit of blood. Not a lot, but just enough for me to taste it.

"Please come with us," I asked. I know I should have asked Rika first, but I needed to do this before it was too late. "Please come and join up with the Mugiwara Kaizokudan."

"What makes you think I'm going to join up with you punks?" I looked up and saw that he was now sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at me coldly.

"You dream of what everything was like before," I said. Only one chance and I gotta make it count. "You dream and you remember, don't you!? Even though I want to be a carpenter, I'm no shipwright yet. If that ship doesn't carry us to Raftel, then nothing in this world is going to change! We are going to make the world a better place by crowning our Rika Pirate King! We can't do that without a ship and judging by how our previous ship held up, it won't be long before we need it to be repaired, even if we take excellent care of it!"

"Get out of my house," Paulie sneered. I got up off the floor and stood steadfast. Don't back down.

"Please, join us." I added a bow for good measure.

"I said to GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Paulie bellowed. He grabbed me by the scruff of my overalls and actually threw me from the window. A two story fall is not a good thing. Feeling very, very defeated, I limped back to the wharf. I must have looked really bad, because all of the villagers were whispering when I arrived, some of the ones I almost landed on looking kind of still pissed off. Rika, Moda, Tamanegi and Ninjin all ran down onto the dock once they were able to see me clearly.

"What happened!?" Moda gasped. She gingerly reached up and touched my forehead. I think I bruised it. Oh, no, wait… that's blood on her finger. Damn.

"Nothing," I lied.

"You looked just like him," Ninjin smiled, patting me on the back.

"Like who?" What was he talking about?

"Like the captain!" Tamanegi laughed. It took me a couple of seconds to understand, but it hit me.

Like Usopp-sama; I'm probably just as useless. I smiled back anyways.

"What in the world did you just do, without my permission?" Rika asked. "We were just about to leave and you go and disappear on us? What gives?"

"You were going to leave without me? You fucking ingrates," coughed a voice. I looked behind me and saw that Paulie was standing there, fully clothed and with a duffel bag flung over his shoulder. He took one look at me and his upper lip curled, almost letting his cigar drop to the ground.

"Paulie, when did you decide this?" Chimney asked. She seemed rather afraid. I don't blame her though. Paulie took her over to the side and began talking to her so that none of the rest of us could hear.

"What did you do?" Rika asked, staring at Paulie and Chimney and trying not to move her lips.

"I just did you a favor," I replied. "If we have him along, we can have the ship fixed for free along the way."

"You're an idiot, I swear," Rika sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You should have said something earlier to me."

"Hey, I just thought of it," I said. We glanced over at Chimney and Paulie, seeing that Chimney was actually smiling.

"Go sailing with them," she said, kissing Paulie goodbye on the cheek. "I trust you."

"I won't let you regret this," Paulie said. He obviously thought that the kiss on the cheek was not acceptable, because he then kissed her full on the mouth. Made me just a little nauseous, but they are married after all.

"You're leaving Dad?" Thomas asked sadly. Paulie ruffled the kid's hair and gave a slight chuckle.

"Don't worry. I'm coming back," he said. "I need you to take care of your mom, okay? I'll be sure to come back as soon as I can."

"Okay," Thomas said. He hugged Paulie and sniffled. Poor kid. He just got comfortable in his new life and his father was leaving. I never thought about that. Paulie walked over to Rika and held out his hand.

"Permission to join up, Captain Rika?"

"Aren't you a bit old for this?" Rika asked with a grin. "You should stay with your wife and kid, old man."

"…and miss out on saving the world like some cliché storybook hero? I don't think so," Paulie laughed. Rika took his hand and shook it briskly.

"Welcome aboard," Rika said. Her, Moda, Ninjin, Tamanegi and I walked behind Paulie as he mad his way up the gangplank. We set sail and left the little seaside village. I knew there was a good chance I might never return, but I could see that Paulie had the will in him to come back. The look he gave Chimney as the ship slowly lost sight of the wharf was one of promise. It was a look that screamed that he would return.

"So, I think we all have a job to do," Rika said as she sat down next to the main mast. All of us looked at her.

"What do you mean?" Ninjin asked.

"We've got to name the ship!" she replied with a smile. "Paulie-ji, did you have anything in mind while you were making this beauty?"

"No, not really," Paulie frowned. I don't think he like Rika calling him old, but he was going to have to deal with it. That's just how Rika is and I doubt she's going to change just for him. Besides, this just means that he's now permanently part of the crew.

"How about _Fading Sorrow_?" Tamanegi suggested.

"Not the _Pride of the Seas_?" piped up Moda.

"I was thinking maybe something along the lines of _Rangoku-maru_," Kappa thought out loud.

"No. I think Tamanegi-kun actually is making sense," Rika said. "I like the name he picked."

"...but _Fading Sorrow _sounds depressing," Chabo said.

"I don't think so," Rika argued calmly. "Think about it. I want to be Pirate King. When I do become Pirate King, we will bring the world back to order, _fading _everyone's _sorrow _in the process."

"Not bad," Paulie laughed. We all agreed that _Fading Sorrow _it was.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Okay, okay... I admit it. I wanted Paulie to join the canon Mugiwara Kaizokudan before it was clear that Franky would instead. I am a rather shameless Paulie fangirl. Can you blame me? I doubt you can._ _He needs to make some sort of cameo-comeback, I swear it. Also, for the record, I have absolutely no clue as to what "Rangoku-maru" means. It was untranslated in the fan-translated manga I read. Sorry 'bout that. I just wanted to crack a funny with a reference to the actual manga._


	18. Vagabonds of Old

Yeah... new arc time. Happy-fun-explosions time. Nacho time. Yeeeah. -double point- I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Flower**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Sakura**_-chan. Chapter's a little short today, but worth it.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Seventeen

Kappa: _Vagabonds of Old_

It wasn't long after we had first set sail in our new ship, _Fading Sorrow_, before something bad happened.

Now that I think about it, it wasn't too bad. It was just shook us a bit.

The day had been going as usual. Paulie the Dickhead was surveying the ship, stomping around like the grouchy fucktard he is, making a bunch of noise and complaining about something. Pussyfoot Piiman and Idiot Chabo were up in the crow's nest together doing who knows what. Ninjin the Brute was being useless and had taken to sleeping on the deck. That prick Tamanegi was going over the ship's log with My Captain, acting like such a fucking know-it-all while My Moda was in the kitchen baking something that smelled beyond heavenly.

Then there was me. I was watching My Tashigi as she trained on the upper deck. I did have a table in front of me with a few maps, papers, pens, a sextant and a few other surveying tools, just to make sure that I looked like I was doing something. Sure, think I'm a pervert. Have _you _seen My Tashigi when she's training? Enough said. Besides, I'm sure that I am the only one that can truly appreciate her beauty when sweat literally pours from her skin and glistens in the beating sun. She does everything from handstand pushups with one hand to dead-lifting boulders stuck to barbells. Yeah, it's a little butch of her, but still sexy as hell. She had even changed into one of those tight black exercise shirts too, instead of that grimy grey thing she always wears. Trust me, you've got to _see _it to understand. It was a shame that the tight shirt covered her from waist, elbows and up to her neck. Show a little more skin, why don't you?

I think it was Pussyfoot Piiman that screamed first. Within seconds, the entire ship had been swarmed with attacking pirates. Sure enough, everyone jumped into action. Even the Ninjin the Brute woke up from his nap in order to help out. All things aside, it was a simple battle. I don't think we even needed to get out the weapons or disturb My Moda from her baking. We had all defended the ship with ease and had started the customary corpse dump over the side when it happened.

Now that I think about it, I don't even think I had time to react. As I was shoving the second-to-last of the unconscious attackers off the deck, I could have sworn I saw something glinting on the horizon. Taking it as just the light bouncing off the surface of the water, I turned my back and proceeded to get the final body to throw off the ship. By the time I turned back around, I could see that a small craft was headed towards the _Sorrow _faster than I could react. Within a second, and I mean literally a second, we were boarded again. Granted only one guy hopped aboard the ship, but his presence seemed to bring such a cloud on the ship that a thousand men could have been there instead. I dropped the unconscious man into the sea almost totally out of fright, which is an action that does not suit me at all.

"Who are you?!" Paulie the Dickhead asked. The guy didn't answer right away. He was tall and surprisingly buff. I say surprisingly because he looked like he was pushing or even past forty. He had on shorts, boots and a shirt that he kept unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled to his elbows. He also wore a hat that near completely shaded his face enough for me to almost not see the fact that he had black hair and freckles. I didn't like this guy one bit. I knew that one false step and I was going to kick the Bastard into the sea along with everyone else who had tried to board us that day.

What shocked everyone though, was that as soon as the Bastard took one step, he collapsed on the deck. It was just a little strange.

Okay, not a little strange. It was very strange. What was even stranger was that My Captain ran up to him and removed the Bastard's hat to look at his face.

"Get him into the galley!" she ordered after letting out a little gasp. Brute, not really being one to argue, picked up the unconscious man and brought him into the galley so that he could be placed on the floor.

"What is going on Kappa-san?" My Moda asked. I could see her craning her neck to try to see over us, but unfortunately, we men are just too tall for her.

"Nothing for you to worry about, my dear," I said. I walked over to her and gave a suavely reassuring smile. "Just a rogue that the dear captain decided to take in."

"This is more than just a rogue," Prick Tamanegi said, his voice slightly raised. He sounded a bit awestruck as he was hunched over the Bastard.

"Then what are you waiting for?" My Tashigi asked. I looked over at her and saw that she had her sword drawn. Her brow was furrowed in the grit and scowl that made her all the more attractive; just as beautiful as when I imagine her laughing.

"What are you talking about Tashigi-chan!?" My Captain demanded. My Tashigi simply stared coldly at the Bastard.

"He's a powerful pirate, Taisa. I've seen the old bounty posters. He was once one of the strongest men in the world. If we let something like him live, then how can we adhere to our dreams? His lack of diligence helped to destroy our everything."

"Killin' him won't do nothin'," Ninjin the Brute muttered.

"Just please put your sword away," Idiot Chabo pleaded. I stayed silent, but made sure to keep My Moda out of the view of the Bastard and My Tashigi, just in case.

"You little brat," Paulie the Dickhead scoffed. I could hear Pussyfoot Piiman whimper something from his spot behind Brute, hiding like a little shit. I could just barely see My Captain's face over Dickhead's shoulder go from defensive to shocked as My Tashigi moved without warning.

I expected blood to spray and immediately made way to move in front of My Captain. Instead, as soon as the body was in my sight, it erupted into flame.

"Holy shit!" squealed Prick Tamanegi. Most of the rest of us let off a few rounds of curses too. Me, personally, I went for the "_What the fuck!?_" approach. The flames danced around and took shape until they disappeared, leaving the Bastard in their place. He was now standing and staring directly at My Moda. Then he spoke, tipping his hat and pissing me off something fierce.

"Hey there, Darlin'. Long time no see, eh?"

That's it. He's gonna die.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Even though I can assume most people can figure out who the newcomer to the ship is, I was very amused at my chance to write this side of Kappa. Since his first chapter is more him complaining about the other men in the group, I had wanted to get some narration of his blatant-women-worshipper side as well. Kappa the Pervert is great. Kappa the Pervert should get in trouble for being like this._


	19. Burnt Into My Memory

Oh yeah... I have, like, nothing to say. Shame. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Flower**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Sakura**_-chan, as always.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Eighteen

Moda: _Burnt Into My Memory_

I stood there in shock and surprise. Rika-san, well, she had the guys drag some guy into the galley and I still went about my business, because it's none of my business, really, but I _had _to look, and now it turns out that the guy they dragged in was _**him! **_How long has it been? Years, I know, but how many? Still, no matter how long it has been, I don't think I could ever not recognize him.

"Hey there Darlin', Long time no see, eh?" he said, looking straight at me. A lump formed in my throat. He called me that before, the last time we met. Both times we had met before he called me "Darlin'". I don't know why. He just did.

_I am sitting alone again in the little café in an island port called Gato de Fuego. I still had my grey-blonde hair then. My eighteenth birthday was the week before. I had spent it huddled in the rain. Now I had finally scraped together enough money to buy myself a nice piece of chocolate cake, a pot of tea and still have enough money for a night's lodging. The cake had snow-white icing and pink rosettes made of sugar. It was the first piece of real food I had in a few days._

"Hey, who do you think you are!?" Kappa-san snapped. No, please don't fight this guy Kappa-san! You don't know!

_He sat down in front of me, without even introducing himself. I looked up from my cake and nearly chocked on what I had in my mouth. He needed no introduction. Ten years had passed and the only change was that he actually wore a different shirt. It was not buttoned, of course, but it was still a shirt._

"Hold your temper!" Rika-san barked. Kappa-san calmed down, because it was Rika-san who told him to. Everyone else looked a bit uneasy. The look on Tashigi-chan, Paulie-san and Tamanegi-san's faces told me that they knew who the man walking towards me was. I'm more surprised that no one else seemed shocked, because I know I certainly was.

"_Hey there, Darlin'. Long time no see, eh?" he asked, flipping his hat back so that I could see his gleaming black eyes. I remember that my chest began to constrict as he continued to talk, flashing me a smile. "You know, I went back to your little town about a year ago to make good your promise of letting me visit and nothing was there. I didn't even meet one of those little cows of yours. What happened that made you run and leave me to find only a moss-covered house foundation?" He raised his eyebrow as I bit my lower lip. Why did he just have to come out and say it?_

"Hey, who are you and what do you want with Miss Moda?" Chabo-san asked, placing a hand on the man's shoulder and turning him so that they were eye-to-eye. He's always been so protective of me, Chabo-san has. It's like he's my big brother and I'm glad for that.

"Excuse me, but is this any of your concern?" His voice was a bit smoother than I remember it.

"It is if she's our nakama!" Chabo-san replied with a gulp. Nakama... that's such a lovely word.

_It was nighttime, I told him, a little bit after we finished dinner. People from the village were running through the countryside, past my home and screaming. I told him about how five men came tearing through the crowd. My parents were home from the military on leave to spend some time with me. They had opened the door to see what was going on, and immediately two shots were fired. Both my parents dropped to the floor and I screamed. Two men came in and saw me crying over my mom. The one with the cane smacked me in the head with it. He kicked me in the stomach and I flew into the wall. I couldn't move, even when the guy with the large hat and gun lit a piece of paper with the stove. Pretty soon, the whole house was on fire. I don't even remember how I got out. I just did and when I woke up, everything and everyone was gone and burnt to the ground._

"Please Chabo-san, leave him alone," I pleaded, my voice feeling weak. I stepped between the two of them, looking up at Chabo-san with the widest eyes I could muster. "He's a good guy! Don't hurt him because of me."

"He can't be trusted," Tashigi-chan said.

"Says the one who tried to cleave him in half," Piiman-san added.

_I remembered waking up before morning twilight with his arm gently wrapped around me, making me feel safer than I had been in a long time. After meeting up in the café, we shared a hotel room. It wasn't romantic or anything like that. He would have gotten his own had there been another room open, but there was only one spare bed open in all of Gato de Fuego, being that there was a festival starting the very next day and tourists were at their peak. He had offered to take the chair in the corner, but as long as there was a bed sheet between me and him, I was fine with sharing. I could feel his chest rise and fall against my back and his slow breath gently rustling my hair. The bed sheet was still between us, because I felt fabric instead of his bare chest against my shoulders. Deciding it was safe, I went back to sleep. When I woke up again, he was gone and had vanished into thin air. Not even the desk clerk saw him leave. All what was left was the memory of his warm presence and a small pouch left on the nightstand that had money in it for me. Had it not been for that act of generosity, I might not have survived._

"Don't worry yourself," he whispered in my ear before turning to the rest of the crew. "My name is Portgas D Ace and I have no intention of hurting anyone. All I ask is for a good square meal or two and some rest and I'll be on my way." He wrapped one arm around my shoulders, bringing me in for a hug where my back was against his chest. I knew he did it to make Kappa-san and Chabo-san angry. "Now tell me, which one of you guys is the cook of this ship?"

"That would be Moda-chan," Rika-san said sternly, steeping forward so that she was in clear view of Ace-san. I could hear Ace-san take a sharp breath inward and growled.

"Where did you get that hat?" he hissed. His grip on me became tighter as his voice began to rumble.

"That is none of your business," Rika-san said, "unless my guess about you is true." I could see her eyes narrow and she crossed her arms in a strong stance.

"That _hat _is none of _**your **_business," Ace-san said, his voice growing rough. "I've seen it too many times to mistake another for it. How did you get it?"

"It was passed on to me." Rika-san's voice was cold. "This hat was given to me as a reminder of the man who showed me what it was to be a true pirate and to live by the late Pirate King's words."

"Impossible," Ace-san said. His arm was beginning to hurt me. I knew he didn't mean it, so I stayed quiet. "You could have never known him."

"I did, and if you release Moda-chan, I'll gladly have a little chat with you about it."

Ace-san looked down at me and quickly let go, staring with shock at my strained face. Rika-san gave us one of her captain's nods and walked outside with Ace-san.

"What was that?" Paulie-san asked, scratching his neck.

"That was Ace-san," I explained. "He's a very kind man. I saved him from drowning when I was young and he repaid me by sending a letter to my parents."

"You mean you encountered Fire-Fist Ace as a child!?" Tamanegi-san gasped. I looked over at him.

"Why are you so shocked?"

"He's a pest of a pirate from the East Blue and was once a higher-up in the ranks of the Whitebeard Kaizokudan," Tashigi-san said, leaning up against the wall. "I don't know if he's still subservient to the Yonkou, but he's still a pretty big find all on his lonesome."

"What, were you able to get a look at his bounty poster?" Ninjin-san asked. Tashigi-chan nodded in reply.

"When I was younger, there were a lot of bounty posters laying around. You could say I lived with an obsessive."

"Then that girl'd better be careful when talking to him," Paulie-san said. "If he was that powerful back then, imagine his power now."

"Che, he's past his prime," Kappa-san scoffed. Paulie-san's eye twitched.

"Hey! That guy's supposed to be younger than me! What are you trying to say!?"

"...that you're an useless old fucktard..." Kappa-san muttered. That's when they started fist-fighting for the fifth time that day. I looked at the door and hoped that everything would be alright.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Now Moda's past has been revealed... or at least most of it now. Anyone who knows me and my fandom alignments probably should have half-expected the arrival of Ace at some time or another. I enjoy the very thought of Ace/Moda, even if it is just as a platonic sort of thing. Here I made it a sort of platonic relationship, with Ace not respecting the boundaries of Moda's personal space. Sort of like "friends with benefits", but not quite. I also utilized most of what I took away from my singular Spanish class in high school, being that I learned how to say that "my cat (gato) is on fire (fuego) in the bathroom", despite the fact I don't even own a cat. Ace seems like the kind of guy you'd find in Spain, kicking back in Seville in a little café or happily running through Barcelona with those ticked-as-hell bulls. Mmmm... Ace._


	20. My Idol's Brother

Heroes. Monday. Generations. Watch it... fangirl-ing... turn useless, I must. Thanks to _**Sakura**_-chan and _**Flower**_-san, for they make me smile. I do not own _One Piece_. No offence to the dude, but I don't think his English is this good... or would write fanfiction for himself. Who would seriously write fanfiction for themselves? I would like to know, besides television script writers who were in favor of pairing Character A and Character B, but lost to a C-A/C-C landslide. Yeah...

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Nineteen

Rika: _My Idol's Brother_

I climbed up into the crow's nest with Ace right behind me. It was really kind of strange as I sat down and he hopped into what was basically a glorified wooden bucket and sat across from me. I could see, as he smiled, a man long dead in the tone of his skin and the glint in his eyes. His hair was a little wavier and he sure had a lot more freckles, but I could see that the family resemblance was there.

"So, you wanted to talk up here where no one can hear us?" Ace observed. Uh, duh. Being old shouldn't make you an idiot.

"Did you ever know someone by the name of Luffy?" I asked. So I figured I might as well come straight out and say it. There's no sense dancing around the subject. They're related, I could feel it.

"How do you know that name?" he asked, his voice going low. I caught his attention. Good.

"So you knew him then?" I gave the guy a smile, taking off my hat and twirling it on my pointer finger. Ace's nostrils flared in anger.

"I more than _knew _him. He was my kid brother."

I stopped twirling the hat and stared at Ace. _Portgas D Ace _sure as hell doesn't sound that closely related to _Monkey D Luffy _at all. Stepbrothers? Half-brothers? Adopted? It still didn't make sense to me. I was thinking cousins, at the most, on a mother's side.

"You're lucky; he was a good man," I said, placing the hat back on my head. "Like I said: he showed me the life of a pirate by the words of the Pirate King. There has not been a more important thing done for me since, not even saving my life."

"You don't know how long I have been searching for that hat," Ace said, pointing at my head. "I've wanted to complete my brother's promise for him by returning the hat to the original owner."

Original owner? Luffy-nii never told me about an "original owner" of any kind. I raised my eyebrow and scoffed.

"As far as I've known, this hat belonged to Luffy-nii and Luffy-nii only. What you're talking about is news to me."

"I would only assume so," Ace said, leaning back and looking at the clouds as they went by. "Luffy was a talkative kid, but the chance of him telling you about Shanks is slim."

"Shanks?"

"Akagami no Shanks. He hung out for a time at our village before he made it big. Inspired Luffy to be a pirate and gave him that hat as a promise. Luffy had to give it back to him one day after he became a great pirate, yet only about a month of pirating got him killed... so I've heard."

"Executed is more like it," I said. "The word 'killed' is too soft. He and Koby-nii were supposed to be examples for my town, to show what happens when someone defied the Captain." It was an example alright. I still remember how their blood splashed on the ground and sprayed everywhere when their necks were split in two.

"So he bit off more than he could chew, eh?" Ace frowned. He shook his head and sighed. "That Luffy. Makino-san always knew he'd get himself into trouble too big for him to handle."

"I told him it was dangerous. He wouldn't listen."

"It would have been typical Luffy though." Ace paused and gave me a look-over. "You were present at his execution? You don't exactly look old enough."

"I was only a kid, but all the townspeople had to attend. Some of the people thought it was good, getting rid of the troublemakers like that. My mom and I knew different though. He had defended me when the Captain's brat son came back to let his dogs eat me. If it weren't for Luffy-nii, I'd be dead." I drew my knees up and hugged them, feeling like a small child. I tried not to look at Ace.

"Is that why you look like him?" Those words hurt more than any insult he could have thrown at me. They didn't hurt because they were mean and nasty. They hurt because it was the truth. I idolized Luffy-nii for being so brave and doing what none of the citizens of Shell Town had done before by standing up to Morgan. I want to be just like him.

"Yeah," I replied. "I want to be the Pirate King, just like he did. With that title, I want to bring back some form of order to the world. I think if he had lived, he could have been able to have gotten strong enough to save it."

We stayed silent for a long time. I rested my head against the mast, the image of that blood-stained axe dancing in my mind. Everyone I ever loved and considered to be my family died on that axe and at one point in time, I thought I would have been next. That man killed his own son for Roger's sake, so what was stopping him from killing me? Looking over at Ace, I saw that he was sleeping. Figures. He woke with a start, looking around skittishly before realizing where he was.

"Sorry 'bout that," he apologized. He gave me a sad smile and exhaled loudly. "So then, you want to become Pirate King?"

"Yeah," I replied. For Luffy-nii, I would have wanted to do anything.

"Then I think that there are some words that you have to remember," Ace said. He shifted so that he was on his knees and placed his hands on my shoulders to look directly into my eyes. "_'Inherited will, destiny of the age and the dreams of its people; as long as people continue to pursue the meaning of freedom, these things will never cease to be.'_ According to those who were there at his execution, Gol D Roger said these things, along with a few others, before he died. Luffy knew that, whether it seemed like he did or not. Even if he hadn't heard the words for himself, he felt them deep down inside his soul."

Gol D Roger, the only other known Pirate King to have ever lived and, possibly the greatest pirate of all time. Who hasn't heard those words? He was executed in Logue Town, the place of his birth, forty-two years ago before a crowd of his enemies and nakama. That started off the Golden Age of Piracy which lasted about twenty-two or twenty-three years before collapsing on itself. I knew what Ace was talking about. There is barely a person in the world who wouldn't.

"You seem determined to make this happened," he continued, "so I'm going to do something for Luffy and me both. A 'D' should make it to One Piece."

"A 'D'?" I wondered out loud. That made like, no sense whatsoever.

"That is how we are related," Ace said. "We are the D family. Everyone in my family carries that same middle initial. It connects us, and those related to us, by something that cannot be explained in words. No one knows anymore as to what it means, except that we are all family whether we like it or not."

"So then what are you saying?"

"What is your name?"

"Rika of Shell Town."

"Then from now on, I want you to be called 'Monkey D Rika' and take with you my brother's name and dream. That hat doesn't just let regular, normal people even touch it you know." He took his hands off of my shoulders and let his hat shade his face from the sun. "You are now as good as my sister."

Sister? Whoa, hold the Den-Den... sister?! What just happened here?

"Wait a second, did you just adopt me?" I asked. Ace just slipped his hand underneath my hat and ruffled my hair, smiling broadly.

"Yeah," he said as if it were perfectly normal. "You have been adopted into the D family. I've always wanted a little sister."

I cocked my eyebrow and looked at the smirking man in wonder. What exactly was I just dragged into?

* * *

Author's Notes

_Who else here doesn't like it when people name their OC characters with the middle initial "D" for no apparent reason? I'm talking about the random OCs, the ones with little meaning and would have died already in this fanfiction if this was canon. It's true I've found a few "D" OCs that were passing since there is a point __**somewhere**__ in the story... but it still irritates me. That's why I gave Rika the initial of "D", so that it has meaning, strength, depth and allows me more time to drool over Ace! Wait... Ace is, like, in his forties here. Eww... creepy... I want to cry now._

_Hold the Den Den... I just noticed something. None of the current holders of the initial D have the letter D in the rest of their names. Whoa, like radical, man... that's going to be important I bet._

_Oh, shit... __**DRAGON**__. I just owned myself. Now I will cry._


	21. Dropping on the Eaves

Heroes... drunk Briton in Japan... TV's Adam West... pimpin' Ando... Momo meets Midas... HRG ownage... adorable Molly... NATHAN IS A VAMPIRE LUMBERJACK!!!!! At least some sort of freakish pseudo-vampire with a scruffy anti-senator beard, I mean. That's my story and I'm sticking to it until I get so totally dissed by the canon plotline. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Flower**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan and _**Butterfly**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twenty

Tamanegi: _Dropping on the Eaves_

The night Portgas D Ace came to board our ship, I am not sure if many of us men slept well. Actually, now that I think about it, we did not. Almost immediately after his introduction, which was quite rude if I do say so myself, he and Rika had a private conversation in the crow's nest which put more of us than just Kappa over the edge. Then, later on during dinner, he made sure to sit right next to Moda and in the middle of the meal, fell asleep on her shoulder. Paulie was complaining about it afterwards, despite the fact he truly has no real room to talk. Any one of us could have mentioned how close he and Chimney were after we defeated the assassins, yet none of us chose not to, as he was not the kind of man to take such criticism lightly... particularly when we mention their mutual zeal over closets.

When it was time to turn in, we offered up Ninjin's hammock in the room he shared with Piiman and I, since Ninjin was going to take first watch anyways. Ace turned it down flat and said that he was going to share with Moda. All I can say about that is that I am quite certainly thankful that we had decided to pick up some tranquilizers a couple of months ago, because Kappa was not entirely pleased with the idea. Then again, he is never too pleased with the idea of a woman with a man other than himself, yet that is probably a different story entirely. Piiman and I never really fell asleep that night, and neither did Ninjin once he came in after Chabo relieved him from watch duty. We sat up against the wall, listening intently for sounds coming from Moda's room and ready to take action at the first sound of foul play. By morning, we were exhausted and no sounds had alerted us. Breakfast came and it seemed as if Piiman, Ninjin and I were not the only ones who could not sleep well. Paulie, Chabo and Kappa appeared worn as well. The only ones that seemed to have had any sort of sleep were Rika, Tashigi, Moda and Ace.

We, being the male members of the Mugiwara Kaizokudan, were irked.

Later that day, as I was sitting out on the top deck and busy reading up on a legend of a sky-bound civilization hovering above the Grand Line, I was approached by Kappa. He seemed quite cross, so I had attempted to feign ignorance to his presence.

"Oi, Prick," he said, blocking out my sunlight. I glanced up and saw him looming over me. Piiman has always told me that I am a horrid actor, no better than our childhood hero.

"Yes?"

"I need you to come with me," he growled. I stood up and when I looked at him square in the face, I could see the bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. I put the book down on my chair and sighed.

"What are we going to do?" I replied. "You know how fond I am of being lead blindly by another man." This was, of course, sarcasm, the use of which caused Kappa to scoff and his glare became icy.

"Just be quiet and be sure to bring those tranquilizers," he said. Without another word, I followed the navigator below the deck, making sure to slip in and out of my room in order to fetch my tranquilizer gun. Yes, it is a gun. The only way the tranquilizers can be safely administered is through the small handgun they came with. Cease looking at me like that. The two of us crept along and stealthily entered the supplies hold. I closed the door solidly behind me, creating a soft sound that Kappa smacked my head for.

"Who's there?" someone asked. Kappa swore under his breath and dragged me behind a pile of crates, covering my mouth with his hand. I heard the heavy sound of boots walking towards the door and finally the sound of Ace talking as he opened and shut the door.

"Looks like the door was loose and the waves are rocking us," he announced as he walked back to where he had come from. Once his footsteps were less audible, Kappa let go of me and cursed.

"Are we spying on Ace?" I asked in a hushed tone. Kappa failed to reply, instead moving his way stealthily along behind the piles and piles of storage crates that were stocked with the crew's provisions. Soon, Kappa was peering over the top on the crates with a look of spite and loathing.

"Not just that Bastard. Look," he hissed.

Carefully, I crept up to look over the crates and I saw Ace leaning on the wall. Not only that, but there was also Moda sitting down on a crate and Rika straddling a chair. The girls were both staring at Ace. Rika seemed serious and stern, an expression completely unlike her. Moda, on the other hand, was a much more natural shade of shock.

"So then if what you two are saying is correct, then this is an adoption more important than any in history," Moda said. I frowned, being as our chef's words indicated that Kappa and I had stumbled in on the middle of the conversation, most of the subtext lost forever. She pointed at Rika and then at Ace, back to Rika again, sizing them up all the while. "You know, I guess you guys kind of look alike."

"Yeah, thanks," Rika said, rolling her eyes. She then gave a slight chuckle and smiled, her mood becoming much more pleasant. "Moda-chan, I need you to keep this a secret between the three of us, alright? I don't want anyone else knowing about Luffy-nii, his connection to Ace-nii or my new name."

I heard Kappa take a sharp inward breath. What was Rika talking about? It perplexed me and I had to think. I pondered as I sat there, the conversation going no where in the process.

Eureka!

I pulled Kappa down and we crouched behind the wooden crates. "I think I know what the Captain is talking about!"

"What do you mean?" Kappa asked. His nostrils flared in anger I knew was not meant for me.

"You were not around yet when Rika explained how when she was little, a man inspired her to be a pirate by showing her what the pirate spirit was all about. That was all she told Ninjin, Piiman and I when we first met. I bet this 'Luffy' character is that man she told us about all those years ago and that Ace is somehow linked to him!"

"You really think so?" Kappa's tone reflected curiosity.

"Are you kidding? I know so. I only heard it once, but it is still quite clear," I grinned. Kappa nodded and we both returned to our stealthy perches.

"I don't know about this Rika-san..." Moda said warily. Her back was to me, but I could tell by the way she shifted her head that she was looking at her dangling feet. "Don't you think that we should tell the others? I mean, meeting like this with Ace-san would make Kappa-san angry as it is."

"If that Retard wants to think I have no morals, then let him," Ace spat. He scratched the stubble on his chin and sneered. "He obviously doesn't know that I can kick his ass to the next life in an instant. That little whelp knows nothing about me, or my relationship to our Moda. He obviously thinks I'll do something 'cause he would if he was in my place." Kappa muttered "Bastard" under his breath. My assumption is, and was, that "Bastard" is now Kappa's name for Ace. It makes sense, for Kappa anyways.

"Oi, that's my nakama you're talking about," Rika piped up. I could see as she and Ace both shared a smile and laughed.

"Now I know that I made the right decision," Ace chuckled. He gently kicked himself from the wall and walked over to Rika and took her hand to shake it. After shaking her hand, he brought her in for a brotherly hug, ending it by holding her shoulders out at arm's length to get a good look at her. "I am sorry, but I am afraid that I cannot stay with you guys for much longer. Staying in one place for too long, even if it is a ship, makes me uneasy."

"Then I hope our paths cross again on much more natural of terms, Ace-nii."

"Ace-_nii_..." Kappa growled, almost inaudibly. I could hear a guttural rumbling coming from his throat and the malice applied over the honorific used. In one fluid motion, Ace went from Rika to Moda, to whom he bowed at the waist.

"No matter what, I still owe you my life," he said.

"...but you delivered the l...!" Moda began. Ace cut her off by placing a finger on her lips and spoke to her smoothly, in almost a private tone.

"From what you told me, keeping that promise led for a whole lot of trouble for you." He wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her in closer so that his voice turned into barely a whisper. To be honest, I was surprised I heard it. "I should have instead been capturing the man who did those things all those years ago while I was running around with the Marines. I swear on my life that if you ever require anything, call me and I will be there."

"...but you want to leave, now that I know how to cook for you...?" I attempted to contain my laughter. Kappa's breathing became heavy. I glanced at him and saw that his nostrils were still flaring. Clutching hold of his forearm, I mouthed the words "Stop it" to him and he cast me a dreadful glare.

"Ahem," Rika coughed, clearing her throat. Kappa's attention was diverted back from me to our captain as she sat there looking disapprovingly at Ace and Moda. Ace glanced over his shoulder at her and the highly embarrassed Moda peered around his arm.

"Excuse me, but I am trying to make this a little more heartfelt, if you don't mind," Ace said to Rika, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh, I'm just trying to make sure that you both realize that I'm still here," Rika shrugged. She twirled one of her pigtails and looked at the ceiling with an amused smile. That was one of the definitive perks about Rika, in my personal opinion: she could break up a scene with relative ease.

"Still," Ace said. He took Moda's hand and kissed the back of it, sending our cook into a fit of blushing. I heard Kappa snort and before Ace could continue with what he was going to say, he burst out from behind the crates and wrenched Moda from Ace's hold.

"Who the _**fuck **_do you think you are!?" Kappa snarled, using his iciest stare on Ace. The older man took a step back, his face expressionless.

"Kappa-kun!" Rika gasped, totally appalled. "How long were you there!?"

"Long enough," Kappa snarled. I stayed in place, however. The less known eavesdroppers, the better the situation is destined to turn out.

"I was only saying good-bye," Ace replied, his voice deadpan. The man was a complete enigma to me. I tried to contemplate his angle, even long after the event was over, yet I could come up with nothing.

"You ever touch her again and I will personally _have your head off your shoulders_!" Kappa snarled. Rika stood up and smacked Kappa.

"So the last straw was Moda-chan, eh?" she hissed. "No one touches your precious Moda and gets away with it? You're a disgusting creep!" She made a disapproving grunt and stormed out of the room, Ace close behind.

When I finally resurfaced on the deck of the _Fading Sorrow_, the small boat moored to ours was gone and a throughly confounded Chabo had been kicked out of the crow's nest by our foul-tempered captain.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_Fun, eh? Don't worry. I did this on purpose... and not just for the hell of it either. For some unexplainable reason though, I was stuck in the middle of the chapter for about two weeks or so. It was quite curious. I hope it does not show. That would be dreadful._


	22. Battle

So... who watched the new One Piece dub on Saturday night? Hm? Has anyone else caught it yet on the television/internet? I'm thinking that although there are still a couple of flaws and needing to get used to (as with all anime), I am satisfied until the uncut DVDs. Name changes and tobacco abuse are not a dream! I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Flower**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan and _**Butterfly**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twenty One

Tashigi: _Battle_

I do believe it was about four weeks after Portgas D Ace left the ship when we had another war-at-sea. Portgas had been a rather creepy person if you ask me. I remembered him from all of Smoker-oji's stories when I was younger and his face seems almost barely changed with age since his bounty photograph was taken aside from a few age lines. That is not the point though. Four weeks, seven uneventful islands and barely a ship in sight for five days later, there was a most satisfying battle.

The enemy pirates boarded the ship easily. Taisa is not very good at keeping watch, as she was the one in the crow's nest. She had been sulking up there since Portgas left. I do not know what had happened between the two of them, for I had never cared to find out. I forgave her though, for it was the first instance in which my blade had tasted blood in a long time and he had been howling in hunger for at least two weeks at that point.

I was training when we were boarded. That pervert Kappa was watching me again, so he was too distracted by me to realize what was going on and I was too busy attempting to block out his gaze. Moda, I believe, was in the kitchen with Piiman cooking our dinner, so they were occupied as well, although Piiman did come out to attempt to help us once the fighting began. Ninjin was sleeping, as always, and Tamanegi was being an idiot windbag and had attempted to talk Chabo's ear off. It was not really until I heard the scraping of a sword being unsheathed close to my person did I realize anything was going on.

With one quick movement, I dropped my weighted stick and spun around, descending to balance on one bent leg as I swept the invaders onto their backsides with the other. I rolled towards my sword lying across the deck and drew it swiftly. I heard shouting as the attack began on both parties' part. I charged and one could say that I... _happily _fulfilled my purpose.

There is something poetic about the way a well-kept sword cuts through flesh and entrails, spilling a useless peon's wasted hopes and ambitions onto the cold ground unceremoniously. The spurt of blood that follows lies somewhere along the lines of fanciful and glorious. A man's final gasp of air is an instance I am all too familiar with. It is easy to become lost in a fight such as this one when the moment is as right as it was.

Soon, I began to taste blood. I knew it was not my own; I felt no pain. I could not feel pain anyways. The adrenaline of the air surged through me, eliminating such a useless experience from my blurred, euphoric senses. I was more than holding my own in this one. I, the youngest in this "crew" of misfits and cads, can more than take care of myself in a dangerous situation.

Suddenly, the scene became quiet. I looked about and saw that we had won. The attackers had been defeated soundly and my shipmates all stood victorious. Taisa was panting heavily, standing with her hands on her knees. Paulie's right arm was bleeding, his blood flowing gracefully down his work-shaped frame. Tamanegi and Ninjin were watching the rest of the attackers retreat back to their own ship, making sure that they did not double-back on us.

"Idiots," Kappa grunted. I walked down to the main deck and nudged over a corpse with my foot. His face was wrought with the pain and agony that accompanied his death. There was a tattoo emblazoned across the left side of his face in red. I spat at the disgusting atrocity, the mark of a man long dead.

"What is up with them?" Chabo asked in wonder as he stared at the body lying at my feet.

"These are Revolutionaries," I replied. "They carry the mark of Monkey D Dragon, the founder of their movement." It was true, as most of the corpses had the tattoo's design either on their bodies or their clothing. "They do their work in the name of Monitor Rizado." Smoker-oji talked about the evils of the Revolutionaries, how Dragon was ultimately the cause of all the problems by dueling with his father, the legendary Vice Admiral Garp. It was a battle that killed both men and was rumored to have been over the death of a boy, possibly Dragon's son. My uncle said that after Dragon died, his right-hand-man, Rizado came to power. He was filled with bloodlust, greed and a thirst for power and in return, sent the Golden Age of Piracy into a downward spiral, dominating the seas and influencing the bastardization of the free peoples of the world. The collapse of world order was the reason Smoker-oji and Tashigi-oba came to live at the dojo and is the reason that they died in the end.

"Does this mean we really should have killed those guys?" Piiman asked as he tried to navigate his way back to the kitchen.

"I do believe that it would have been a wise choice," Tamanegi said. "Now Rizado will have news of our whereabouts."

"So? Let him come! I'll kick his ass!" Taisa said in response. She raised her fist triumphantly. There was just something about her clear change-of-heart that I found to be less than convincing.

"No, we need to lay low," Tamanegi said. "If Rizado really is as powerful as he is rumored to be, then we have to be very careful. No one short of the Pirate King will be able to stand up to him. You may want to be Pirate King Rika, but we are nowhere near Raftel quite yet." Taisa scowled at him and stuck out her tongue, which I guess was her version of a witty comeback.

"Then let's get to the nearest island, quickly," Kappa said, stepping forward. "We can lie low there for a while before heading out again."

"The next-nearest island, if you please," Rika ordered blandly, apparently having admitted to herself that Tamanegi had a point. "They'll look on the nearest island first and then we'll be dead." Without another word, Kappa went to plot our course, Tamanegi went into the hold and the rest of us began to dump the corpses into the sea.

* * *

Author's Notes

_No, I am not sick in the head... Tashigi is. I wanted to fit in some gore... plus give reason for my next plot device. Sorry this was way shorter than the previous chapter. You know how it is... I guess._ _**Major plot twist**__ lies ahead. When it hits you, you won't realize what did._


	23. Old Guys are Weird

You know that something's wrong when you attempt (attempt being the key word here) to dance along to "Jango's Dance Carnival" and fail multiple times, only to give up and memorize most of the Sogeking theme song. I need a life. Seriously. I do not own One Piece. Reviewer thanks go out to **_Flower_**-san and **_Sakura_**-chan.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twenty Two

Ninjin: _Old Guys Are Weird_

We got to the next island fast after the Revolutionaries tried to kill us. Kappa was amazing when he was able to get us there. Having him sure beats wandering in a dinghy. The island was full of people like us. Not really like-like us, but they were pirates like we were. We all decided to go to a tavern to eat dinner and give Moda a break from cooking.

"This place seems a little shady to me," said Paulie while he lit a cigar. We had ordered our food and were waiting for it to come.

"No more shady than where we picked you up, Dickhead," Kappa said. They both looked at each other kind of mean. They always do that, so no one else cared. At least Kappa wasn't trying to get a woman in bed or Paulie wasn't yelling at women about dressing like sluts. They do that too much.

"Behave, you two," Tamanegi said. Our drinks came and we all got a mug each of grog, except Moda. She had some soda. She was kind of quiet and kept on looking at her hands holding her glass. Maybe she was nervous about the tavern having pirates. I know that when I open my own tavern, she could come and not be worried one bit.

"So, what's the plan from here, Captain Rika?" Chabo asked. Rika thought for a little.

"I think maybe we should stay here for about a week and a half... just to keep low," she said. She put on her "smart" look and shook her head. "Yup, a week and a half should cover it."

"The Log Pose takes only three days to set," Kappa said. He had stopped fighting with Paulie to talk to us. "The sooner we leave, the better."

"That is what Rizado want to think," Rika said. She was smiling. I always knew she was smart.

"What happens if he finds us here?" I asked. "It would be a mess, right?"

"Not entirely," Rika said. She held up a finger and winked. "Wouldn't staying behind be suicide? All we have to do is stay hidden until the Revolutionary cronies plow through and we're in the clear!"

That was when the entire tavern became quiet. I don't think it was because of Rika. Some men walked in and took the table next to ours. They were loud and stupid and all dressed in the same black pants and bright pink shirts that had bright yellow flowers on them. Fucking girly if you ask me.

"Hahaha!" said the first. There were three men, but this one looked youngest. Maybe my age. "This place sure has been simple! The Boss made it sound like we were going to face and army of giants!"

"Don't be too cocky," said the middle one. "You know that one place we passed though, it was supposed to have been a thriving center of trade and the premier place to have a ship built." He sounded smarter than the first guy.

"You're an idiot," said the oldest. He looked about as old as Paulie. "That city was nothing more than a pile of crap. I saw it when it was in its heyday and the quality of the ships were still worth less than shit. Even the mayor was an half-wit, and he was supposed to be the best o' them!"

Paulie made a grunting noise. His back was to the men. He looked pissed.

"Really? You were in Water 7 before the fall of the Government?" asked the middle guy. Where have I heard that name before?

"Yeah, back before the mayor was murdered. I always thought it was one of his workers that did him in. I heard there was one that gambled away almost everything he had on a regular basis. He could have used the money..." They laughed.

"If you do not mind, we are trying to enjoy ourselves over here," Tashigi said. She got the men to stop laughing, but they all stared at her.

"Don't tell your elders what to do, girl," said the youngest one. I heard Moda tell Kappa to stay in his seat. "You don't even know the first thing about what we're talking about."

"Try me."

"Hey, don't let her get to you," said the middle one.

"As I was saying," said the oldest, "the mayor though, he never was right in the head. The man he apprenticed under wasn't even a man at all. He was a Merman..."

"Fishman," said Paulie. He sounded ready to explode. "If you're going to tell a story, get it right. Tom-san was a Fishman." The old guy at the other table looked at Paulie.

"Do you have a problem?" he asked. The old guy stood up and stared at Paulie. "Is there something you would like to say?"

"Yeah," Paulie said. He stood up and decked the guy across the face. "Stop talking about Tom-san and Iceburg-san like that! They were great men and master shipwrights! You could never understand!"

"You...!" the youngest one said. He stood up, but then backed down when the rest of us stood up except Moda. "You insolent dogs!"

"Go fuck yourself," Paulie said. The three men all stood together, ready to fight.

"You don't know who we are, do you?" asked the youngest.

"Like I give a flaming bowsprit," Paulie said. He spat on the ground.

"You just wait then," the young guy said. "We'll get our leader to take care of you... and he's a Devil's Fruit user!"

"Devil's Fruit is nothing special," Rika said.

"It is when you cannot lay a finger on the User," said the middle guy. "He'll slip through your grasp like a puff of smoke."

"Bullshit," said Tashigi. She looked offended.

"Just watch," the oldest guy said. "There will be two islands that the Log Pose if going to flick between. One of them is Yuuenchi Isle and that is where our leader is. Even if you do get to the other island first, Yuuenchi Isle will be next on the Pose setting. You can go past Tria, but not Yuuenchi. We will be waiting for you." Ugh... confusing.

"Tch. Words," Kappa said. The guys then ran out of the tavern and we realized everyone was staring at us.

"So much for lying low," Chabo said.

"Moku-Moku..." Tashigi said. I think she was doing that thing where she thinks out loud, because she wasn't talking to anyone.

Our food came and the lady said it was free. She said those guys always cause trouble and she was glad we got them to leave without breaking anything except the one guy's nose. Being a pirate pays off.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Yeah, I decided to bring back Ninjin, just because I thought he shouldn't be too far behind in the narration count. There is a bit of hinting done here. Well, actually, a lot of hinting. I foreshadow freaking everywhere in this story, so this chapter is no different. Plus, before someone asks, Tom was the legendary shipwright from Water 7 who taught Iceberg his stuff and built Gol D Roger's ship _Oro Jackson _and _Puffing Tom _the Sea Train. He was a pufferfish Fishman. Fishmen are different than merpeople in One Piece, although sometimes in other tales the terms often intertwine. For example: Arlong was a Fishman. He had feet. I guess you could try to trump that with Kokoro, but she got a tail when she was swimming. Ha! I wi–i–in! Oh... and guess what "Yuuenchi" reminds me of? ENCH-MAN! -rolls on the floor laughing-_


	24. Score

It's a long one this time around. I guess the character doesn't want to shut up. -smiles- I really did want to wait until tomorrow to update, but I'm antsy. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Flower**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twenty Three

Kappa: _Score_

That old dotard was right. We had stayed in the little island-town of Sinclair as long as My Captain had wished and after we set off to sea, the prediction had come true. I'd thought ahead and bought an Eternal Pose that was set to a different island while we were still in Sinclair. The locals had plenty of them. Apparently, there was loads of superstition and odd rumors about that place, so it was more than commonplace to sell Eternal Poses when on a normal circumstance, they were fairly rare. The Pose pointed to an island called Muenster that was technically to the north-west of Yuuenchi Isle according to locals. After a long debate with myself, I decided that it would eventually be for the better if I stopped relying on the shifty Log Pose and resign myself to the Eternal Pose. No one knew of the Eternal Pose. I figured, it would be a surprise. All I really wanted to do was keep the girls out of harm's way.

Well, that is what I had convinced myself to believe. I don't know what the original reason was anymore, but I had a gut feeling we should have stayed far away from Yuuenchi Isle. Those men in the tavern, although I could tell they were nothing more than small fry, sent a red flag waving in my mind. Something deep within my memory told me those three were bad news.

That's why when I had second watch one night shortly after leaving Sinclair, I mapped our course to Muenster. It was very simple to make a delicately curving course that would barely be detected by the others. The only ones who might ever notice would have probably been the Prick Tamanegi and the Dickhead Paulie, because they're little fuckers like that and would love to find some way to rat me out, and My Tashigi. She could navigate the stars and would've realized something was up if she noticed one night during watch. It was a good thing that was the only way she could navigate though. Her daytime navigation skills... for lack of a much more appropriate term to use to describe a lady... sucks.

"Oi, Idiot," I muttered after I came down from my watch. I opened the door to the room Chabo and I share, maps and equipment tucked under my arm, and shined lamplight onto his face. He curled up in his hammock and moaned something unintelligible. Fucking Idiot, choosing now of all times to sleep.

"It's your turn to take watch."

"Nuuff...mhn...puh..."

"I said to get up, Idiot."

Swiftly, I kicked him in the rear and he fell out of the hammock with a thud. I watched him as he shuffled out of the room with the lamp and made his way for the deck. The cold night air was going to wake him up, I knew that already, so I left the room to go a little further down the hall to where I kept the maps and navigation tools and carefully replaced the old course map with the new one. I cautiously folded the old map and placed it in my back pocket before walking out the door. Quietly I closed it, only to turn around and find myself inches from running into My Tashigi.

Shit. I'm caught.

"I need to talk to you," she said simply. Without waiting for me to reply, she walked briskly down the hall to the room that had been designated as her own. I had never dared enter it before, as it was a lady's bedroom and that would be rude, but when she beckoned me in, I knew it had to be something important and ignored the sword-shaped wooden plaque Pussyfoot-Faggot-Piiman had burned to mark her living quarters.

My Tashigi's room was spartan, at best. She had her bed, a few hooks for some clothes and her sword resting next to a poorly-lit lamp on a table in the corner. I was surprised on how bare it was. I knew that the girls had each gotten their own beds while we men had hammocks, so that was not much of a shock. The room was just so... stark. It was unnerving.

"Sit down," My Tashigi said, motioning to the spot next to her on the bed. I sat, as there was no chair in the room and I dare not refuse.

"What's the matter, my dear?" I asked. "What is it that causes you to call on me in the dead of night?"

"Cut the flirtatious shit," she said sternly. I gulped at the solidity of her voice. "I want to make a deal with you."

"A deal? I'd do anything for you, Tashigi, my darling, you know that. There is no need for a 'deal' of any kind." I know it was a bit overboard for the moment, but it was how I normally would talk to her. No need changing that because it's the middle of the night and we're alone, right?

"Take us to Yuuenchi Isle."

I let my face fall at her words. I knew I was going to have to do something I wouldn't want to do. Just because one of the women wants it, doesn't mean that I should put the other two in danger.

"I can't do that," I answered. "I have to take the ship away from the island. It's what's best for the crew."

"There is something I need to do on that island," My Tashigi said, her tone cold as steel. "We have to go to Yuuenchi Isle, not some other one down the chain."

"The map's been made. I don't think we should go to Yuuenchi Isle. Something is not right about it."

"Since when are _**you **_captain?"

"Last time I checked, dear lady, neither were you." It hurt to say those words. "Our Captain trusts me to make the right navigational choices. I am sure she will understand my reasoning..."

"I was afraid you would have a price," My Tashigi muttered. She held up her pointer finger and stared me dead in the eyes. "One night; no more. I give you one night and you change the course to Yuuenchi Isle for me."

"One night?" That was kind of confusing. Really, it was. "One night or you'll do what?"

"Ugh, you're an idiot," she huffed. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed my shirt by the collar and pulled hard, almost ripping the fabric. Before I knew it, she was kissing me full on the mouth. She suddenly stopped and backed her face away, looking at me with those cold eyes.

"One night. That is all you want out of any woman, right?"

I was at a loss for words. I'll admit I'm a pervert at times, but I would never skip first and second and head straight to third and home. I have been nothing but kind and protective of the women in the crew since the day I joined. Well, actually, since the day My Moda joined. There was always something about My Captain that screamed for me to not even attempt to advance on her. With the exception of that, I have basically been chivalrous in nearly all senses of the term. I protect, I complement, I adore and made them known they were special to me. I was always the one to make advances and hints towards a night alone together and now the tables were turned, an offer staring me down with steely midnight-blue eyes.

"Are... I... huh...?" was all I was able to put into words. Smooth, I know.

"Do not take me for a fool, Kappa," My Tashigi said. "I know that you watch both Moda and me like some love-sick little puppy, pretending to do work as a cover. This is what you would want, isn't it?"

"No... I...!" My face was red, I knew it was. Something about this wasn't right... I could tell. This wasn't at all like her.

"Then you won't change the ship's course?"

"Tashigi-chan..."

"Then what do you want?" she asked. If that was ever a loaded question...

"Only for you girls to be safe and out of harm's way," I replied, after thinking for a while. Her gaze never faltered.

"I have business on Yuuenchi Isle."

"It's too dangerous."

"No it's not."

"...but those men from the tavern on Sinclair..."

"...since when are you a spineless, disgusting coward of a man?" she spat. She came closer to me, shifting so that we were touching shoulders and she could touch my other shoulder with ease as she brought her voice down to a horse whisper. "Somehow I always knew you never had it in you."

"Never had what?"

"Nothing, nothing," she said, taking her hand from my shoulder and giving me a look that appeared on the verge of pity. "I just see what it is now. I hear that denial is how guys like you cover it up at first."

"Cover _**what **_up?" She intensified the look.

"Who are you really with? Is it Chabo? I always heard that the two of you were picked up on the same island..."

Aw, hell no. That's fucking sick.

"No! I'm not like that!" I gasped. That's Piiman's gig for all I care. Hell, I don't even know if it's Pussyfoot's gig or not and I don't care to find out.

"Then why are you afraid of me?"

"I'm not afraid."

"Then what are you waiting for?" My Tashigi asked, her eyes returning to the stone-cold look from before. She leaned her face in close to mine and smirked. "I'm beginning to wonder if Piiman is the real pansy on this ship or not."

Before she could insult me anymore, I closed the gap and kissed her in order to prove her wrong. Now that I think back on it, it was stupid of me to fall for it. Really, _**really**_ stupid. We sat there for not even a minute before she pulled me down so that I was above her, pressing her frame into the crisply-made bed. Just to make it all seem more believable, she ran her fingers through my hair.

Like I said: it was really stupid.

Now, I am going to safely assume that you can guess what happened after that. We're all adults here and I think it is safe to say that I can spare you the details. Would you talk about it if you were in my shoes? I think not. I wasn't even in my shoes, because they were on the floor, but you know what I mean. Principles... just one of those things.

There was something important afterwards though that I am willing to share with the class. It was after My Tashigi fell asleep and I was still lying in bed with her, my face buried in her long green hair. I had become lazy in the deep scented-droughts of sea spray, long training exercises and the seafood-curry dishes she loves the best. I had both arms wrapped around her protectively, keeping her back close to my chest. A small tug at my mind began to pester me, becoming louder and more persistent as time ticked on.

Then I realized I had my end of the bargain to uphold. I groaned unwillingly. She had tricked me, used my fault and her body to get what she wanted in the end. I had never expected her to be that kind of woman and I still don't think she was by choice. She had to have been desperate beyond any and all expectation to resort to such trickery. I just wished I had just caved in and changed the map without all this. I would have never gotten out of the bed with such guilt.

Carefully, I dressed without waking up My Tashigi. I took the map out of the back of my pocket and stared hard at it. In the soft light, I could barely make out where I had marked in red ink the plot of our course to Yuuenchi Isle. I sat down gently on the bed and kept my back to My Tashigi... no... just Tashigi. I could still remember what had happened with no hope of reversing it. I stared at the black outline on the map, marked "Yuuenchi" in my own script. There was supposed to be a natural harbor on the east side of the island and we would land there in five days if all went well. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"I am sorry Tashigi," I said. I reached my hand over and touched her upper arm. I don't know why, since she wasn't even listening. Her muscles were sharp and toned from her training. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. "I don't think I can..."

Not finishing a sentence is rude. That's a huge rule if you ever want to even think about existing as a gentleman. This time though, it was more my voice trailed off than I had nothing to finish my thought with. I drew my hand back and allowed my eyes to grow wide. It is not nice to stare either, but what I saw took me by surprise, maybe even more so than the condition of the room, or the conditions of our first kiss. I had never replaced the blanket after I got out of bed and I could see all I needed to clearly in the low lamplight.

Down Tashigi's back ran a scar. I am not talking some tidy straight thing that might have come from a surgery. This was crooked and knotty and ran in a jagged diagonal line that was almost two inches wide in some places. Gently, I ran two fingers over it, amazed I had not noticed it earlier. I had resigned my neglect to the moment and knelt next to the bed, staring at the... disfiguring mark. What on earth could that have been?

Then I remembered: "_I have business on Yuuenchi Isle_."

Her words struck me hard as the lamp burnt itself out. Now I understood. Something happened in the past, something she doesn't want to talk about, and she has a feeling an answer lies on Yuuenchi Isle. She might even be from there for all I know. There is so little I really understand about her past. If that is really the case, then maybe I should help along her future.

I covered her back with the blanket and slowly crept out of the room. I could see no twilight coming from portholes on either side of the ship, telling me that dawn had not quite decided it wanted to break. I crept back to the map room, found the route to Muenster and ripped it up. After throwing it in the wastebin, I replaced it with the original course for Yuuenchi. I made my way back to my room and collapsed into my hammock, knowing that on the other side of the wooden wall, was a woman who had ultimately gotten the best and worst of me.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Whoo... was that ever a chore to write. I wanted a good plot twist here and some character development. Can you believe that this chapter made me laugh? Well, it did. Now I know I promised not to write porn... which I kept my word about by replacing it with the little "we're all adults here" speech. Seriously, if you can't put together what happened, then you really shouldn't be reading this, no offence. I don't need to describe creepy shit like that. Still, Tashigi now has some __**major**__ explaining to do, since I bet you never saw that coming before this chapter... considering her father in his normal, canon form probably has the sexual drive of a bread roll. I forgot who described it like that. It's a good comparison and I'm stealing it. I just hope this sounded enough like the Kappa of my story._


	25. Hope

I adore this chapter. Well, I adore the last chapter too, but these past two chapters are probably the closest thing I'll get to describing sex in this story, let alone for a long time. Porn bad; implied porn, acceptable... although it was kind of funny in retrospect. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Flower**_-san and _**Butterfly**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twenty Four

Tashigi: _Hope_

I knew I had to go there from the second I heard the men in the tavern mention the Moku-Moku no Mi. Yuuenchi Isle was supposedly the base of a man who could use the fruit that Smoker-oji ate. There can only be one of every Devil's Fruit. Even though they never said it forthright, I understood what they were attempting to be cryptic about. I never saw my uncle's corpse all those years ago. Now he is here, on the Grand Line, only a few days sail from my current position. The very thought of seeing him again made me so happy, I could barely contain myself.

The only problem was getting the rest of the crew to agree to come with me. They did not even have to accompany me onto the island. All I needed was transportation to Yuuenchi and they could leave for all I cared. Let them chase after that dream and live in a fantasy world. If One Piece was out there, it would have been found by now. Finding Smoker-oji is more important to me than a silly little fairytale. I need to let him know that I am alive and about how Saga-sensei is trapped. He would help me find Saga-sensei and free him before he dies, I know he would. I cannot lose them again. Only then can I continue to pursue the dream of my parents and master and become _**the**_ Master Swordsman. My family is more important to me than any dream out there.

Somehow, though, I knew it was only a matter of time before Kappa would change the course of the ship. He is probably one of the best cartographers and navigators I have ever seen and making such a change would have been simple for him. I, on the other hand, basically inherited my father's sense of direction, or lack thereof. When I was younger, Tashigi-oba and Smoker-oji taught me some constellations in the stars and that is all I know to this very day. I am completely lost on a cloudy night or during the daytime.

So I watched Kappa. For three days, I watched every move he made. I knew one night as he brought his navigational equipment up with him when he relieved Taisa of watch duty that he was going to change the ship's course that very night. I sat on my bed in my quarters thinking about what I could do to reverse the problem.

There arose another problem. Kappa does almost nothing but flirt and stare at Moda and me all day long. When he is not busy with one of us, he is either working on his maps or fighting with one of the other men in the crew. If he would ever want a price to be paid, I could only assume that even if he does not say it––the first thing that would come to mind is unfortunately... me.

My family though, I would think is more important than that. What is one night to be quickly forgotten versus being reunited with the last scrap of family I have left? I knew from the moment I thought of it that I would not like it one bit. So, when I heard Kappa come down the stairs after his shift was over to wake up Chabo, I listened intently through the wall that separated my room with theirs.

"Oi, Idiot, it's you're turn to take watch."

I could hear a sharp thud and Chabo walking sleepily up the stairs. Kappa's footsteps, quicker, softer and more alert, made way out the room and into the hall. I carefully peered out of my door to see him duck into the room next door to mine where the maps were kept. I silently crept up to the door and waited while he did his business and came back out again. He seemed almost shocked to see me so late in the night.

I brought him back to my room, where the rooms on either side of us were empty, and tricked him into the deed. Afterwards I fell asleep and when I woke up, he was gone and I knew he kept his promise. He is too honorable to allow himself to disappoint a woman like that. His face at breakfast when he saw me confirmed my suspicions. He was shy and quiet towards everyone, not just me. He stayed locked up in his room for most of the day, probably too guilt-ridden to show his face. I felt guilty too, of course, but I can deal with it. I did what I had to do and that was that. Call me cold-hearted, but that entire night with him was fake. I would do anything to see my family again, even if Smoker-oji never did marry Tashigi-oba. He is still my family and he is important to me. I can show him that I have become an excellent swordsman since we had last met and that I would be willing to help him fight the pirates of the world as Marines once did. We could go back to the East Blue and kill Axe-Hand Morgan, if he had not done so already. We can be a family again; uncle and niece as it was before. We could even restart the military.

Before long, I saw the tip of Yuuenchi Isle in the horizon. Taisa, once she realized that we were finally at our destination, decided to call a meeting in the galley.

"I do not want to dock here on Yuuenchi," she said, folding her arms across her chest and nodding precisely. "We can wait for the Log Pose to set while in the surrounding waters. It should only take a few hours at the most."

"...but doesn't the Log Pose have to reset itself on land?" Moda asked meekly as she stood to the side clutching some baking batter and a wooden spoon. Kappa cleared his throat in response.

"No. If we stay within a land mile of the shore, the Log Pose should be able to reset itself to the next island without trouble," he said in a low voice, keeping his eyes on the wooden table. Paulie leaned forward from his spot across the table and gave Kappa a critical look-over.

"What's eating you?" he asked. Paulie leaned back to a normal sitting position and took a long drag of his cigar. "You've been acting stranger than usual."

"I just don't feel very well," Kappa lied, not even bothering to remember to insult our shipwright. Tamanegi stood up and began to walk towards the door. I bet it was for the little doctor's kit he carries around and plays with, pretending he knows medicine.

I knew what was wrong to a tee. I kept my mouth shut, however, until that night as I came up onto the deck in the middle of the night. Actually, it was closer to daybreak than to when the sun had set and Kappa once again had watch. He was waiting by one of the ship's two life-dinghies, a disgusted look upon what I could see of his shadowed face. The Log Pose had already reset and Yuuenchi Isle was no longer in sight, having disappeared beyond the horizon at sunset.

"Why did you make me do that?" he asked as I hopped into the small boat. I looked at him and he seemed more than just disgusted. The moon was full and bright, shining a clear beam of light onto his face. He now looked more worried than disgusted.

"I need to go and find someone on the island," I said. "It was never any of your concern to begin with. You all are going to be fine without me."

"Everyone is going to be worried."

"I don't care. I was going along for the ride and so far I've been kidnaped, sexually harassed and more. This group means nothing to me."

"Then why are you leaving on your own? Is it for our safety? We are your friends and you can risk our lives too!"

Kappa struck me down with those words. I let out a sigh and looked in the opposite direction.

"Which way is it to Yuuenchi?"

"Follow the Ram," Kappa replied half-heartedly, pointing towards the sky. "Watch as the Ram runs into the Bull. Go along their path and you should reach Yuuenchi in no time at all." I followed the path his finger made in the sky as he pointed out the Zodiac constellations of Aries and Taurus. They made a sharp path to the port side of the ship, the Bull just barely being able to stay above the water.

"Take care," Kappa said as I slowly lowered the boat into the water. I did not say a single word. I know saying something would have made it worse. Instead, I took the oars and began rowing my way towards the horizon, towards my uncle. I knew that it would take all my strength to reach Yuuenchi Isle and so that is where I concentrated my energy. The _Fading Sorrow _slowly drifted from my vision as the sky became increasingly brighter. By the time the sun's first rays of the day shone on me, I was alone in the sea once again. Not a ship nor land was in sight and the only thing keeping me company was my sword.

Smoker-oji, I will come back to you.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_Yeah... this chapter helped out Tashigi's case, didn't it? You have to hand it to her for having priorities set straight. Well, at least what she thinks as being straight. Just a reminder: I know very, very little about the stars. On a clear night I can find the Dippers, Orion's Belt and... airplanes. I live in high-suburbia, what do you want from me? Besides, I think the people who found the constellations must have been high or something. Seriously. People can so call me an idiot on this one. This is your chance! Insult me! Seventy reviews and exactly fifty-eight pages later, you'd think I'd be able to take come criticism. I take it from my spell-check all the time._


	26. The Perfect Storm

So if one could hypothetically engage in a real-life Pokemon battle, would one be able to use attacks on the other PokeTrainer in stead of the Pokemon? Seriously, I think that Confusion and Sing would be highly effective on me. Sure... go on and shake your head. I'm just gonna go play Pokemon Blue on my Gameboy Color. How many of you guys have a Pikachu named Ener or a Bellsprout named Paulie? I thought so. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan (_who has silly quotes_), _**Butterfly**_-san (_who might have mantra abilities_) and _**Flower**_-san (_who obviously gets depressed whenever I write Tashigi doing bad things_).

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twenty Five

Rika: _The Perfect Storm_

For about a week after leaving the waters around Yuuenchi Isle, Tashigi-chan felt sick. At least, that is what we all assumed because she stayed in her room and wouldn't come out to talk to us. Everyone tried to get her to come out, even Paulie-ji. Well, he banged his fist on the door like a grouchy father and nearly busted it, but he still tried. Personally, I think Kappa-kun was making it worse by whispering things into the door when he thought no one was looking. I don't know what he said, but it sure as heck didn't get her to come out. Knowing the jerk, he was probably offering himself as a reward. After a while we all went back to our usual lives.

I really don't know about everyone else, but I had taken to pondering over what happened when Ace-nii was on the ship. It was all kind of strange. Well, Kappa-kun wasn't strange. He was a downright jerk if you ask me. There was something between Ace-nii and Moda-chan though that I knew had not been said. I mean, she _did_ say something about wanting to cook for him. Then again, maybe it is just Moda-chan's nature. She is the chef in my crew after all! A darn good one at that too. Then there was the whole thing where he "adopted" me. Tch! I'm a grown woman for heaven's sake! The fact that I basically gained a new surname and a middle initial doesn't seem all that exciting and seemed less and less logical the more I thought about it. Eventually I figured that if I didn't understand then, I was either going to understand later or never understand at all. That's just how my brain works sometimes, you know?

Well, I'm not good at remembering how long exactly it had been since we left Yuuenchi Isle over the horizon, but it was after I gave Chabo-kun back the crow's nest. He had called down to me and wanted me to come up to look at something.

"What is it?" I asked as I literally fell into the crow's nest. I still really wasn't very good at getting into it yet.

"Can you feel it?" he asked, looking blankly into the distance. I looked in the direction he was looking in and scratched my head.

"What are you talking about?" The day had been overcast, yeah, but there weren't any signs of rain. A little bit of wind blew into my face.

"Chabo-kun, I still have no idea what you're talking about," I sighed, shaking my head. Sometimes I think he tries to get me into the crow's nest just to have someone to talk to, since he stays up here all the time.

That was when it hit me. I felt a chill go down my spine. The little hairs on my arms and the back of my neck prickled. I picked up the scent almost immediately.

"Everybody look alive! A storm's coming!" I screamed as I climbed down the rope ladder back to the deck.

"What do you mean?" Piiman-kun asked. I didn't even have to answer. I heard Chabo-kun's voice from up above. To be honest, I didn't even listen to what it said. All I did was run beneath the deck and began pounding on Tashigi-chan's door.

"Come on out!" I ordered. Now, I don't normally order people around, but I was going to make an exception in this case. If she really was that sick, we needed to know and if not, she had to come and help. I waited a little bit to begin yelling again. "No more games Tashigi-chan! You need to get out here and do your part!"

"Rika-san! Rika-san!" cried Moda-chan as she ran down into the hallway. She was soaking wet and she seemed almost as scared as she was in Water 7. The ship was beginning to rock back and forth, making her footing unsteady. "You and Chabo-san were right! There is a storm and it's bad!"

"How are the guys doing out there?" I asked. Moda-chan squeaked a little, tapping her pointer fingers together.

"Well, there's another ship in the waters and they're having trouble steering clear of it..."

Aw, nuts.

"Stay here Moda-chan," I said before running out to the deck. Immediately I was flung into Paulie-ji's back by a wave. I watched as another wave came crashing down on the deck and almost took Ninjin-kun and Tamanegi-kun with it, but I quickly used my powers and kept them on the deck.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing out here!?" Paulie-ji screamed as soon as he caught his breath. "You should be under with Moda!"

"Just because I can't swim doesn't mean I can't help!" I yelled back. I heard a creaking sound and looked over the ship's railing to see another ship, maybe a frigate class, bouncing in the waves pretty close to the _Sorrow_.

"Please, you have to get below the deck!" Chabo-kun pleaded as he ran up to me. The ship's rocking back and forth was getting stronger and stronger. With the wood wet, I was surprised anyone could stand, let alone run around chasing after the rigging. Lightning tore through the air and I let out a gasp. I couldn't help it. An image flashed in my mind that was all blood and screaming. The hand with the missing finger angrily waved in front of me for the first time in what felt like ages. I couldn't move. Everything began to mix together.

"Get her below the deck!" I could hear Kappa-kun shout. He sounded so far away. I was lifted into the air by strong arms... probably Ninjin-kun. He's good for those kinds of things, you know. I then was sucked back to reality when I felt a hand smack my cheek hard and heard Moda-chan gasp.

"Oh, I am so sorry Rika-san!" she cried. "I had to do something! You wouldn't answer us!"

"No, thanks Moda-chan. I needed that," I said, checking to make sure my hat was still on my head. It was and I let out a sigh. Ninjin-kun was still there, I guess to make sure that I was gonna be okay. He took one step towards the exit and suddenly the floor shook, sending him to the ground.

"What in the...?!" he cursed, rushing back to his feet. He ran up the stairs and left Moda-chan and I alone.

"Oh no..." Moda-chan whispered, her voice shaky. She sat down and hugged her knees tight, trying to bury her face. I really should have at least put an arm around her, just to make her feel a little better, but instead I stood up and began to bang on Tashigi-chan's door again.

"THIS IS NOT FUNNY!" I yelled. "THEY NEED YOUR HELP RIGHT NOW!" I was going to scream more, but the ship jerked, sending me backwards to topple over Moda-chan. I heard more creaking and then it happened.

The pointed bowsprit of the other ship came crashing through the wall. Moda-chan and I both screamed as it came only feet from us. It completely destroyed the map room and with Tashigi-chan's room being right next to that...

"No! Tashigi-chan!" I shouted, finding my way into her room through the holes the bowsprit left as it crept out, going off to meet its doom somewhere else. I rushed into her room, only to find that she wasn't there. Splintered board was everywhere and water from the storm outside kept on sloshing in, but Tashigi-chan wasn't there. Her bed was made, her sword was gone and she was nowhere in sight.

"Guys! Guys!" I shouted as I ran through the door and out towards the deck. No one really paid any attention to me because I was supposed to be under the deck. Paulie-ji seemed to have successfully taken over in my place, shouting orders and actually making sense as he did so.

"Come on you guys! I want to get out of this scudding alive!" he yelled over the storm. "Get that parrel over the yardarm! Don't let go of that halyard, you little coward! We're still pitching too much! What do you think you are doing trying to run away!? That sail is starting to luff! Tame it! Tame it!"

"Paulie-ji!" I shouted. He looked at me and grunted.

"What!? I'm kind of busy!"

"Tashigi-chan's gone!"

"What? What do you mean by that?"

"That other ship crashed into the ship and tore a hole in her wall and she's gone! I think she's been gone for a few days already!"

"That little brat!" Paulie-ji cursed. He then looked over at Piiman-kun and Chabo-kun. "You two! Patch up the hull down below real quick! We can't have this vessel sinking on us now!" Piiman-kun and Chabo-kun both obeyed, since Paulie-ji was acting pretty serious. I followed them back down and held Moda-chan as she began to cry. She was so scared, she thought we were going to die. I had something a lot more serious on my mind than my life though.

What happened to Tashigi-chan?

* * *

Author's Notes

_So I really had parts of this scene, as well as some later material, actually situated later in the story and not as dramatically-written. This particular method of plot-twisting sort of happened when I came up with the Tashigi/Kappa subplot of doomage and I needed some way to have the gang discover "oh noes Tashigis gone!!!1 OMG!". Wow. It just hurt to type that way. Also, those are actual naval terms Paulie was using. "Luff" makes me think of Luffy. I think I finally understand Oda-san now... or not._


	27. Wild Goose Chase

I smell of meat. Why? I just came from working at the Deli of Doom. Cue maniacal laughter and we're good to go! _I do not own One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan and _**Flowe**_r-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twenty Six

Paulie: _Wild Goose Chase_

Holy fuck that was a storm. If I didn't know any better, I would have said that it was Aqua Laguna. Hell, I'm sure if it was Aqua Laguna, we'd all be dead. We were lucky though, beyond lucky in my opinion. Some little shit boat even tore up the side of the ship, destroying our map room and all the route we had mapped out so far. It was a miracle that we weren't sunk right then and there. The rest of the crew acted as if it was the first time they had been caught in a storm and had the ship survive. It was fucking pathetic if you ask me.

The worst part about it all was, though, was that the storm showed us that the brat of the crew had abandoned us. Tashigi was not in her room and it had been pretty damn obvious that she had locked her room from the inside before shutting it as she left. None of us had any idea as to when she had left in the first place, since she could have gone any time within the previous week. She could have even been caught in that storm. My reaction was more along the lines of "Oh well," but the captain seemed to have a different idea.

"We have to find Tashigi-chan!" she demanded as I properly patched up the hole in the side of the _Sorrow_. Those two retards I had fix it during the storm did such a shitty job that it was worse to wait for the next island to make a decent repair job.

"Then why the _fuck _are you complaining to me?" I asked. "I'm just here to make sure that you dumbasses don't destroy my ship."

"Don't talk to a lady like that," that brat Kappa muttered from the other side of the room. He was trying to piece together what was left of his navigational equipment. Most of it had been either destroyed or washed away when that other ship near ran us through. The maps were hit harder though. There was only a couple of those left and they were for the East Blue and from Sinclair to Yuuenchi, leaving us as shit out of luck.

"I'll talk to her how I want to," I snarled. Rika walked over to where Kappa was kneeling on the floor and squatted down to talk to him.

"Can you lead us back to Yuuenchi?"

"No." The brat's face became paler than before. "I can't even plot roughly where we are. All I know is that we were going east on the Grand Line."

"Then let's go west," Rika giggled. I rolled my eyes and went back to work, but I could still hear them talking.

"We might not hit an island for weeks."

"Moda-chan's just gonna have to cook a bunch of fish. Maybe Piiman-kun can shoot a seagull or two if we find them."

"It's going to be tough..."

"...but we can do it."

The conversation ended and Rika left the room. I don't know if they smiled or what, 'cause I had my back turned to that shit.

Before I knew it, I had fixed the hole in _Sorrow-_go and went back up onto the deck to a highly enthusiastic group of kids. They got it stuck in their head that we were going to find the little brat, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I didn't like the idea, because it would waste time, but who am I to say? I'm not captain and when the captain gets something in her head, well, nothing gets it out better than doing whatever she wants, even if it is beyond stupid.

So, we began to sail west and tried to reach a port island. We came to an island with no Pose setting about midway through the ship's course. There we restocked on some fresh water and some food we were able to scavenge and went on our way. Rika was right and we had to live off some seagull meat and fish until we came to another island with people. There, it was filled with all sorts of shops and places where we could get food and supplies. It was an alright town, except for the fact that we were all the way by Whiskey Peak, which I didn't like at all. Whiskey Peak was only the next island over, but it was run by Rizado's goons. We were in the beginning of the Grand Line, back where most of the little shits began their journey nearly a year before.

We were almost ready to leave the island when it happened. Piiman, the retard, got sick. I was trying to teach him how to properly secure the ratlines up to the top mast when he almost collapsed. Tamanegi said that he had a fever so high that he would die if we didn't get him help. He went in to town again to try to find a doctor, but none would help us because of what we were. All because they figured out we are pirates, those fuckers wouldn't help. It pissed us all off that the best Tamanegi and Moda could get was some medicine, but we took it all the same, since Tamanegi said he was good at that kind of medicinal shit. We set sail and hoped that Piiman would get better so we could get on with our lives.

The thing was, Piiman didn't get better. After a while, it began to make the rest of the crew a little weird. Moda made a bunch of cookies again. I guess they were his favorite or something. Tamanegi and Ninjin kept on screaming about pirates coming, which was completely retarded beyond belief and I almost throttled them both on multiple occasions. Rika and Chabo were depressed and Kappa kept on locking himself up in the map room, so whatever the hell he did was a mystery. All I knew is that the fucking damper it put on everything sucked. To get my mind off of everyone else, I would think about home; my new home anyways. I thought about Chimney and Thomas in our new house on our new island. I imagined what it would be like to return to them. How much would Thomas have grown? Would he have made friends? Did Chimney find the new town to be welcoming? How was it like adjusting to all the new people without me? It made me think about how risky it really was coming out to sea, but in the end, I guess it was really just something that I had to do. I'll come back to my family and we would all be happy together. I want to make ships again and teach my son what Iceburg-san taught me, passing on the skills to a new generation of shipwrights. I _**will **_rebuild Galley La.

Island after island. Port after port. For months those fucking tight-ass snobs all turned us away because we were new; because we were pirates. No one wanted to help us. I remember back when Iceburg-san was alive and we would make ships for pirates all the time. Water 7 was crawling with pirates on any given day and nothing was wrong. That was because we could deal with them and they knew that they messed with the Galley La Company and they had a whole city to deal with. After that one Aqua Laguna and our world began to fall apart, the people couldn't stand together and protect us from the shit-pirates. All pirates became evil, even the ones that weren't. In a way, I can't blame them too much, but I mean, it wasn't like we sailed into the harbor with weapons drawn and itching for blood. We wanted a doctor. Does that sound very threatening? I think not.

Really, I don't think Piiman should have been able to hang in as long as he did. Some time after a few islands went by, he passed out and didn't wake up. Yeah, he was still alive, but Tamanegi said that he was too weak and was going to die. Tamanegi's health was getting worse too, since he stayed up almost all day and all night, trying to figure out what Piiman had, let alone how to fucking cure him. I think it was the first thing his second-hand pick-up medical skills couldn't cure. He was the one who admitted that we needed a real doctor. He was doing the best he could and nothing was working.

The day Tamanegi admitted that Piiman was close to dead, was definitely an interesting one. I knew the moment I saw that island on the horizon that something was going to happen. Something was in the air that just screamed "land here and fucking crazy shit's gonna happen". Everyone else could feel it too. I just hoped that it wasn't a dead end like all the other islands. Piiman being sick is bad enough, but if he goes on us... that might just be the end of morale as we know it.

* * *

Author's Notes

_I feel as if I should write something here. Ah, whatever. Oh, next chapter is another flashback. I love the flashbacks._


	28. Memories are Golden

This chapter raises the potential OC count to four, maybe five. Seriously, I will try to add only the bare minimum of OCs, since I think that this story has more impact as a minor-character-turned-major bonanza. I should be able to make my final count on one hand... which is rather unfair as I often use binary numbers and therefore can count up to thirty-one on my right hand. Foosha. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan and **_Flower_**-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twenty Seven

Piiman: _Memories Are Golden_

I knew I was just dreaming, because I know it could never happen again. I'm taller now and probably would have done something other than just stand there behind a bush like the scared little kid I was. For some reason I was really mad with Tamanegi for throwing up on my shoes. I know he didn't mean it, but it was really still gross when he did. I watched the same thing he did and I didn't lose my breakfast and same with Ninjin. I never thought it could have happened, but it did. Klahadore, the really scary butler for Miss Kaya, the one who always threatened us for even looking at him, he killed Usopp-sama.

I'm not talking about poison or throwing him off a cliff. I'm talking about pinning his throat to the ground.

Watching it made my own throat sting with pain. My mouth went dry and my eyes went wide. Ninjin, Tamanegi and I had been hurrying to Usopp-sama, so that we could assist him in his daily pirate warning, when we saw our leader's final stand from the safety of a nearby shrub. He had twitched and squirmed a bit, but he quickly died. That was when I had Tamanegi's scrambled eggs and toast all over the shoes my dad had bought me two weeks before. I liked those shoes. They were really nice.

"Stop that!" Klahadore snarled. The pirates all around him froze, obediently awaiting orders. "Don't you dare raid that village!" He pulled those knives, the ones on his glove, out of Usopp-sama's throat and allowed his body to slide gently down the dirt slope. "Don't kill them unnecessarily! Just hide the whelp's body!"

"No…" I whispered hoarsely. Tamanegi kept on throwing up, splashing it everywhere. Ninjin was staring blankly at Usopp-sama's body. We never knew that what we saw would have been basically a preview of what was to come, because in a few years, that was when our island died.

Jango, the Backwards Man, he came to the island exactly six years after the day Usopp-sama and Miss Kaya died. The six years before that though, was pretty calm after Usopp-sama died. Klahadore had come back to the village, injured and claiming that Usopp-sama had tried to rape Miss Kaya and killed her upon his arrival. Klahadore said that Usopp-sama almost killed him, but ran away like a coward. Everyone on the island believed that to be true other than Ninjin, Tamanegi and I. We had acted for all those years, because we knew that it was dangerous to tell the truth. The villagers already thought of us as trouble because of how we thought Usopp-sama was great. He really was, but when everyone was convinced he was a killer, that sort of put a black mark on our group. Soon after the large funeral for Miss Kaya, Klahadore inherited all of her money and showed that he knew how to use it. Tamanegi, Ninjin and I only decided to take action when Jango came to our island for the second time. By that time, the World Government had fallen and most of the other islands were either under the protection of former military men or were at pirates' mercy. Our island had Ninjin's big sister to protect us, Suika, who was almost done with her training in the Grand Line when she was sent back home. She sure was scary when we got her angry.

I remember sitting along a fence, eating an apple. Tamanegi was scribbling something in a notebook and Ninjin was sleeping. Ninjin had a bandanna over his hair, which he had tried to dye purple to match his sister and dad's natural color but it came out a bright magenta instead. I remember he got it right only once when we were really small. Tamanegi was just beginning to grow out his hair, so it came down to about his chin. I caught sight of the Backwards Man walking down the road and I knew we were in trouble. We hid behind the tall grass along the fence and watched as the Backwards Man made way towards Syrup.

It was a gross thing to do, but we found Usopp-sama's body. Tamanegi said that the only way for anyone to believe us about how dangerous Jango was, we would have to show them proof Klahadore was the real villain. We searched everywhere on the island for it, until we found it in the sand floor of a beach cave. The sand had somehow preserved his body so that it was recognizable as Usopp-sama's body. Tamanegi, Ninjin and I were only about fifteen then and none of us had ever seen a corpse aside from a slaughtered animal for our food. Tamanegi threw up again when he saw Usopp-sama's throat. We carried Usopp-sama's body through the village screaming that pirates were coming. We dumped the shriveled body on the stoop of our village leader, our heads held high in what Tamanegi called defiance.

Now it had not been a special enough event, us running through the village as Usopp-sama once did, screaming about pirates. We did that almost every day after Usopp-sama was killed. Yet, to do it while carrying a corpse was a different story entirely. The village leader came out of his house and screamed when he saw Usopp-sama. Basically, that's what the entire village did. Everyone thought he had long escaped the island, but when we finally told the real reason why Miss Kaya and Usopp-sama had died, their opinions were quick to change. Ninjin's sister saw where the blades had stuck his throat and declared that we were dealing with Captain Kuro and the Kuroneko Kaizokudan... a captain executed and a crew disbanded.

Suika quickly banded together the village men and prepared for an attack. The Kuroneko Kaizokudan didn't stand a chance against her. All the old village men were pretty much useless, but Suika used something she called Rokushiki to fight the pirates and she did a pretty good job. She taught Ninjin some, but I know that he forgot. He is still strong enough to fight like his sister to this day, but I don't think he can use Rokushiki. He didn't use it in Water 7 against the former CP9, but I know they used it on him.

In the end though, Klahadore won. He came out of Miss Kaya's mansion and killed Suika the same way he killed Usopp-sama. Before any of us knew what was going on, he came up from behind while she was occupied with fighting pirates and drove his glove-blades into her neck. Ninjin cried a lot and swore that he would become strong to fight for him and his sister both. Klahadore just laughed at him and walked back into the mansion, telling us to stop being so noisy.

After that, we became basically slaves. For years afterwards we worked for the Kuroneko Kaizokudan. Well, the children did anyways. Jango had everyone over the age of twenty-one, with the exception of a few pretty girls, killed. They made Tamanegi do odd jobs, which was how he got to learn so much. Ninjin worked plowing one of the farms and doing other things like ditch-digging and stuff the pirates didn't want to strain their backs on. They used me as a fool and toy. I had always been slightly built and nimble, so I was forced to learn all sorts of tricks to entertain them. If I messed up, it was worth a beating and if I was good, it only meant they were pleased and wanted more and more from me. I know it sounds like a tired cliche, but that was what it was. I'm alright with words, but not as good as Tamanegi. He'd give you a fancy way to describe it, other than that they were creepy. When I tried to grow out the fuzzy stubble that was starting to grow on my face, that wasn't good to them. Well, some of them anyways. Many of the pirates were too concerned with the girls to pay attention to me. Only a few wanted to keep me looking like a girl.

Sometime after I turned twenty was when I began to notice that people were disappearing. They were older, younger and even the same age. There was a girl that I liked, her name was Yasai, and she was the same as me. We were used the same way by the pirates and by the crack of dawn, when they were all sleeping off the grog, her and I would talk out underneath the apple trees. It felt right to hold her hand and when she had a rough night, I would hug her and say kind things to her so she would stop crying. She liked my beard when I tried to grow it out and she was the one who found a gun for me to use, like Usopp-sama once had a slingshot. She could bake like a dream, her cookies, pies and cakes being some of the best I have ever tasted with only Moda ever coming close. I think I might have loved her, because I've never felt the same about anyone else I've ever met. I'm pretty sure she felt the same, since I was literally one of the kindest men around and never even thought about hitting her or making her feel uncomfortable. We wanted to run away from the perverted pirates together, find Tamanegi and Ninjin and the four of us run far away before we all disappeared too, but one day, she just vanished. I asked about her, but no one gave me an answer. For a week I went without knowing what was going on.

It was Tamanegi that told me. He saw Yasai being taken away, but he couldn't say anything or else we would have been killed. He was the one being forced to keep track of all the villagers and who exactly was executed or sold for not following orders. Apparently, they sold her instead of me because there were more pretty girls than pretty guys. Her and I fell in love and the punishment was sending her off to her death. The real stickler was that the Kuroneko Kaizokudan was getting sick of our town and planned on only keeping a few of us for pleasure and labor, then killing the rest. My friends and I might have survived anyways because of our jobs, but there were still at least eighty more of us from our village and another one nearby on the island.

So we ran. Tamanegi, Ninjin and I ran, leaving everyone behind. Suika was dead, Yasai was dead or as good as, Miss Kaya and Usopp-sama were dead, our parents, the elders... it didn't matter anymore. Tamanegi said that the pirates were going to kill everyone in the night and leave. We left like cowards and stole a dinghy to ride out to sea on. Years went by and we were able to float from one place to the next.

Finally came that storm. How our dinghy didn't bust on the waves is beyond me. It stole our food and water and afterwards, we almost died. That was how we met Rika. She found us and took care of us. I still remember waking up in the small seaside cave, staring into Rika's face, lit by the glow of a campfire. She didn't hurt us. I was thankful. She never wanted to hurt us. It was like a miracle.

I know it's useless thinking about this now. The last thing I remember from being on the _Sorrow_-go is feeling really warm and dizzy and falling onto the ground. Moda called out my name. She was there because she brought me cookies. They were really good, but I just out of nowhere collapsed. I had been sick.

Am I dying?

I've been seeing images of Yasai. I know she's dead. I can feel it. Tamanegi said that the people they sold her to were known for rough-handling their merchandise and dealing with business in the sickest parts of the Grand Line and North Blue, so if she lived to breathe the air of another sea, it would have been a miracle all on its own. I see her smiling and happy, free from the pirates that ruined our lives and innocence. I bet that if our island was not overrun and was instead left free, we would have still met despite being from opposite sides of the island. She was really pretty and I miss her. Maybe I'll see her in the afterlife, who knows? As long as I don't meet those guys from Water 7, I guess it'll be fine. I was so useless, just like Usopp-sama. He couldn't save his woman and neither could I. The only difference between us is that I'm not dead yet.

"Yet" might change soon. I'll never become that carpenter, watch Rika become Pirate King or even live long enough to find Tashigi. Talking like this doesn't even feel like myself. Kappa would call me all sorts of things like "pussy" and "pansy", to reinforce the fact I have a sensitive side, making me slowly believe I was something I wasn't. All I really want is to be myself and follow my dream. If I can dream of being a carpenter in a peaceful world, then maybe I can dream that Yasai is still out there. I can dream about Usopp-sama and Miss Kaya being alive. I can always dream...

...at least I can always dream.

* * *

Author's Notes

_This is another one of those things that came to me mostly at about three in the morning. I love being awake at three in the morning! I referenced "As Fate Would Have It" (ID: 3316339) and my brother's hard copies of the Kuro Arc. I laughed at this chapter too. Well, I laugh after I write it, you see. -taps pointer fingers- I can't help it. It's one of those character quirks of mine. I roar with laughter at dramatic, serious moments in films/novels/anime/manga. You should see me when I watch "LotR: tRotK". Yeah, Éowyn so lived through the Battle of Minas Tirith. There was no need for Éomer to cry like that. Extended versions of the films rock... Oh my, I think my geek level just rose a few points. Anyways, yeah... -giggles- I need to stop typing this story at three in the morning, 'cause someone might get a hold of it that might think it's a cry for help or something... which it's not. I just like freaking myself out. Hey, look! A Canadian nickle! That's not a nickle! QUARTER!!! I'll shut up now._


	29. A Shot in the Dark

Now that I think about it, I really should have waited a day to update. Everyone and their grandmother is most likely going to update tomorrow, being Halloween and therefore an "important day" or some cockamamie excuse like that. It actually makes me want to punch things. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Flower**_-san and **_Dream_**-san. Also, special thanks to _**Gryphon**_-san (...or -_kun_, depending on how our future discussions go), for he's keeping me on my toes and making me think before I type, which actually might help every once in a while. Maybe I'll start focusing on chapter-mapping the rest of the story instead of going by my vague outline... who knows? Only time will tell, I guess.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chabo: _A Shot in the Dark_

I was the one that saw the island first. It looked pretty abandoned, like no one had touched it in a while. Tamanegi said that it was perfect, because he needed to look for some medicinal herbs to keep Piiman alive for a bit longer since it had been five months since he passed out last and we still hadn't found a doctor that would treat him. Uninhabited islands are often filled with these sorts of herbs, according to Tamanegi, so we all made way for what was, with any luck, a summer island. Miss Moda and Ninjin stayed behind while the rest of us used the one dinghy to reach the shore. We were all kind of cramped, but the other dinghy was lost in that one storm we ran into a while back. If we had that one, Captain Rika swore she would have made Ninjin come too, but since it was either leave him behind or Kappa-kun, Captain Rika chose to take Kappa-kun with us so that she knew whether or not he was behaving. He was grouchy all the way to the island, but that is just Kappa-kun. He's been pretty grouchy lately and I don't know exactly why. I ask him sometimes, but he just ends up faking that he didn't hear me and doing something else like working on a map or rolling over in his hammock. I know he's worried about Swordslady Tashigi since I hear him say her name when he's sleeping at night, but I don't think she's what's making him angry like he is. Hopefully it will just go away, 'cause otherwise he might start taking it out on me again. I did expect him to punch me in the arm or something earlier today when he gave me and Ninjin the Death Glare, but he didn't. It's kind of confusing.

The island, however, was more than what Tamanegi had expected, making me almost forget about Kappa-kun's bad mood. The air was thick and sticky. Many of the plants were colorful or had prickers on them. We walked through the warm forest single-file and very slowly. Tamanegi was in front, followed by Captain Rika, me, Kappa and finally Mr Paulie. I tried my very best to be alert, because all the strange plants made me nervous. Soon, we found a small clearing, where we then spread out. I looked around and watched as Kappa-kun and Paulie began silently arguing while Captain Rika and Tamanegi were hunched over a tree root, probably trying to figure out what kind of mushroom was growing on it.

I took a few steps towards Captain Rika and suddenly felt myself being lifted into the air. When I stopped moving, I found myself dangling in the air, kept out of my crewmates' reach by a vine-rope net attached to a high tree branch.

"Holy _fuck_, you're an idiot," Kappa-kun sighed. He looked at me with that face that he uses when I screw up or do something that he thinks is stupid. It's kind of a mix between embarrassed and pissed off.

"Help me please!" I shouted. I was trying to get out of the net myself, but all I was able to do was fidget.

"Hang on kid, I'll get you down," Mr Paulie groaned. He stared at the treetops and picked out which tree held the snare. He then started to climb, having left his lengths of rope on the ship.

"Remarkable how a trap has been untouched for this long," Tamanegi said as he stared at me. "I have seen about enough evidence of actual people on this island to conclude that no one's been here in years."

"Can you find it Paulie-ji?!" Captain Rika called up. None of us heard a reply and she frowned. "Paulie-ji...? Answer me!"

I heard a rustling of leaves and before I knew it, I saw a blur rush down past me. I looked on the ground and saw that it was Mr Paulie. He wasn't moving and looked like he had some sort of dart stuck in his neck. The rest of us panicked.

"Shit! What the fuck happened here!?" Kappa-kun swore. I saw Captain Rika look up and extend her arms upwards. Her eyes glazed over in white and she quickly jerked her hands down. Another blur went past me, but this one stopped right before it hit the ground. It was someone in a hooded cloak that was decorated in a complicated pattern.

"Who are you and what have you done to my nakama?!" Captain Rika demanded. Her voice was scary, like it wasn't her own. I don't really like her scary voice.

"Your kind are not welcome here. Leave at once," the figure said. Captain Rika jerked one hand and the hooded head jerked back, revealing that it was a woman with a deep tan and hair the color of dark chocolate. For a moment, I could see her eyes too. They were the same color as her hair, but seemed almost... trapped... like she was afraid or something. Funny, because she certainly didn't sound afraid.

"What did you do to our shipwright?" Captain Rika asked. The woman just laughed.

"Tis nothing. He will wake in a few hours." I could hear Kappa-kun shouting praises for the woman's beauty, but I tried to block him out instead of listening to his same old speech.

"You know poisons?" Tamanegi asked.

"Aye."

"Do you know medicine?" Captain Rika cut in. Her eyes cleared and I knew the woman was standing on the ground now.

"At a price."

"Will the food, lodging and money we can spare be enough? We have a sick man on our ship. We don't know what to do. He might die if we don't treat him soon." Captain Rika held out her hand for an agreement shake, but it was smacked away. I love it how I am being completely ignored now.

"I've heard that story many times before ever since I was a child," the woman said angrily. "How do I know you are not traders, or that you will keep your promise for that matter?"

"Traders? You mean as in spices?" I asked. The woman looked up at me and groaned.

"Idiots come as they are, I suppose," she muttered. "Are you really that stupid to not know what a trafficker is?" Illegal spices? Huh? I don't get it.

"We are not that kind of pirate," Captain Rika said, staring nervously at the woman.

"Then how come I've seen this man in Water 7, hm?" The woman nudged Mr Paulie with one of her heavy-looking boots and folded her arms. "Don't you dare think that you can fool me. I may look different and exotic, but that doesn't mean that I don't have a brain in my head." Kappa-kun smoothly walked up to her and gave her one of his sly smiles and half-bows.

"That dickhead may have been from Water 7, but that should by no means effect..."

"You're not helping," Tamanegi, Captain Rika and I interrupted. Captain Rika smacked Kappa-kun on the back of his head and shoved him out of the way.

"I promise on my honor as the future Pirate King that we will not purposely cause you harm," she said. The woman looked at her in deep thought.

"Why do you not take me by the same force you used to get me from the tree, Devil Fruit user?"

"Better to ask permission first before an abduction," Captain Rika smiled. She held out her hand again, yet this time, the woman took it.

"Go back on your word, pirate, and you shall hang from these trees in pieces."

Yeah, for some reason, Captain Rika laughed at that.

Okay guys... you can get me down now... no... no... don't leave... oh bother...

* * *

Author's Notes

_So I figured that since the last chapter was rather, erm, creepy in nature, this one should have something more along the lines of mystery. Now I doubt that it was very mysterious, although I do introduce a new and unnamed character. Here's two hints: she's canon and in here about thirty years old in my brilliant, nonchalantly guesstimating fashion. If you're still confused by the next time I update, you'll get the answer then. Her backstory and current skills, by the way, are mostly fanon, just as a warning. This one's gonna be tricky to pull off. Watch as I just make up shit off the top of my head and then try to have it make sense! Heh, like I'm ever going to make sense in entirety._


	30. Witch Doctor

I've been listening to too much Linkin Park lately. I want to write songfics, but can't due to the copyright on lyrics and then the fact that it would probably all suck and I need all the energy I can muster to go into pre-existing fanfictions and homework. Yeah. I should probably do my homework every once in a while. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Gryphon**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san and **_Aven_**-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Twenty Nine

Moda: _Witch-Doctor_

I was sitting in the spare room, watching over Piiman-san as he lay there dying. I had stayed behind because I knew that I wouldn't be good to have around if there was a fight. Ninjin-san was on the ship too, but he was keeping watch on the deck. He could protect me if anything happened. I am always the one who needs protecting, even if I am technically protecting Piiman-san right now. All I really want is to be left alone and not have to be a pirate. I really like my nakama and everything, but I just want all this fighting and dying to stop.

Suddenly, I heard the door to the hallway slam open and the sound of many footsteps coming towards us. The door opened and Rika-san walked in.

"Here he is," she said. Behind her came a very pretty lady who looked to be about as old as Kappa-san, maybe a little older. Her cloak, which was a beautiful swirling pattern, was wrapped around her, but she had a drawstring bag flung over her shoulder. I heard her heavy boots as she walked across the room and stared at Piiman-san.

"This is it?" she asked. Her voice scared me. Somehow, the tattoo around her left eye moved as she spoke, making her become unfriendly. She then caught me out of the corner of her eye and looked right at me. "Who's this?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't answer.

"This is Moda-chan, our chef in the crew," Rika-san answered for me. "She's the one who's been helping out Tamanegi-kun when treating Piiman-kun."

"Right," the new lady said. She took off her cloak, revealing a pair of brown man's shorts and a bikini top decorated like the cloak was. She had more tattoos: some looked like gashes going over her left shoulder that joined in the center of her back, there was a ship's wheel on her left arm, a few bands on her right arm and some swirly-looking things on her mid-section that touched the gashes tattoos on her back. She pulled a cigarette from her back pocket and lit it with a lighter from her bag. Once it was lit, she looked at me and frowned.

"Go get me some hot water and a couple of hand towels you don't mind me ruining. I will also need to examine all of the different spices you have here on ship. If there is any rubbing alcohol, I'll need that too. I don't suppose that you remember what this bloke ate the day he fainted first, do you?"

"N-No..." I said. The lady grunted and took a puff of her cigarette.

"Then go and get me that stuff."

Quickly I went and got what she needed. I came back to see that Rika-san had left. The lady was at the desk, using it to mix things in a little mortar bowl. I put down the pitcher of water, spices and rubbing alcohol and dug in my skirt pockets for the towels.

"This is all you have?" she asked, looking at the spices. "You have what we need, but not much more."

"Is that a problem, ma'am?" I asked.

"First off, the name's Aisa," she said, her voice frustrated. "Second, not only can I assure you that you'll cook better with more variety, but I need to have access to everything I possibly can."

"You mean that you can heal Piiman-san with spices?"

"Not just spices, but little things here and there help. You would be amazed at what I can do with things you normally cook with," she said, taking a little bit of cinnamon for the mix. She also took some other stuff too, but she did so fast that I could barely tell what it was.

"Where did you learn medicine?" I asked.

"My people," Aisa-sensei said with a mean voice. "We had developed advanced medicine over the years, most of it much better than the shit that you ignorant Blue Sea dwellers came up with." She poured a little bit of water into the bowl and began to grind it all into a thick paste.

Blue Sea dwellers? She was not only scary, but confusing. Aisa-sensei walked back over to the bed and took my chair to sit in. She had the rubbing alcohol and splashed a little bit of it on Piiman-san's forearm, as well as her hands.

"Get the water, towels and mortar," she ordered. I brought them over and she immediately took one of the towels to wrap around Piiman-san's upper arm. I watched as the veins in his arm rose. Before I realized it, I saw a glint and then red as Aisa-sensei stabbed Piiman-san's arm where she had put the rubbing alcohol.

"What are you doing!?" I gasped.

Aisa-sensei didn't answer me. Instead, she kept on working. I watched as the blood went everywhere and got caught by some of the other towels that I had brought along. Carefully, Aisa-sensei dipped the tip of her knife in the paste she made and then touched it with Piiman-san's new wound. She did it again and again, working quickly to put about half the stuff on the cut. Some of the first few touches actually had the paste dissolve into Piiman-san's blood, but there was a nice mound of it once she stopped. Then she tied the last towel around the wound and had me get the rest of the water. It was a little cooler now and Aisa-sensei added enough water to the mortar bowl to make the paste into a liquid. She poured it down Piiman-san's throat, trying her best to not spill. When she was all done, she sat back in the chair and sighed.

"Wait for it," she said.

"Wait for what...?" I asked.

Suddenly, Piiman-san began to cough, sitting straight up in the bed. I jumped, since I really didn't expect him to do anything and he scared me. Once he stopped coughing, he sat there breathing heavily, like he had just run a race around an island. I don't think he saw us, because he then closed his eyes again and let himself flop back down on the bed.

"So it was all a dream... Yasai..." he muttered. He looked like he was going to slip back into unconsciousness.

"Piiman-san!" I shouted. He sat up again and looked at me.

"Moda...?" he asked softly. I smiled and then he smiled back. I quickly went and hugged him, laughing with tears.

"I'm so glad that you're okay! Everyone's been so worried about you!"

"What happened? How long have I been out?"

"Five months, a week and three days. One week longer and you would have been dead for sure," Aisa-sensei said. Piiman-san looked at her and shifted in the bed.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am the woman who saved your life," Aisa-sensei answered. She then stood up and walked out of the room.

"She knows medicine," I told Piiman-san. "I really hope she stays with us! No offence to Tamanegi-san, but I would feel much better if she was treating me than him."

"Tamanegi just thinks he knows everything, that's all," Piiman-san laughed. He then looked at me with the kind of smile he's never used before. It was really warm and very kind, as if he was remembering something else instead of just me. "I'm just glad that I'm back."

"I'm really glad that you're back too," I smiled.

Just then, the door slammed open and in ran Tamanegi-san, Ninjin-san, Chabo-san, Kappa-san and Rika-san. They all tackled us on the bed, turning us into a big, laughing, giggling mess.

"So you are awake," I heard Paulie-san say. I looked and saw that he was standing a few feet from the bed, smiling at Piiman-san.

"We were so worried!" Tamanegi-san cried, hugging Piiman-san around the middle. Ninjin-san just cried.

"Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!" Kappa-san threatened.

"I won't," Piiman-san grinned.

"Good," Paulie-san said. "Otherwise, I won't teach you a goddamn thing about this ship."

"Wait... you're going to teach me more about the _Sorrow_-go?!" Piiman-san asked excitedly. Paulie-san chuckled.

"Just get better, then we'll talk, you little dork."

I don't think Piiman-san could have been happier.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Aisa is __**KICK ASS**__. That is the only way to describe her and still do justice. She was the last crew member to have been developed, let alone thought about. Well, it's kind of mean putting it that way since her concept sketch was drawn in late June, but she still was a late addition to the storyline, nonetheless. It sort of happened one day when I was doodling and I was on a (gasp) gender-bender kick and thought "female Wiper" and that's how Aisa as seen here was created. In all seriousness, I do believe my drawing helps, considering Aisa's role in the canon storyline as a child was minimal and her hair was almost always covered. X.x I can say the same for Kappa as well, but that's just due to the fact I made him mafia. Yeah... visiting my deviantART page is always a good thing for the soul._


	31. Trust is Relative

So yeah... after I post this chapter, I'm gonna go and post some drawings I've done up on deviantART, one of which being a better picture of Chimney. Her hands look a little funny, but other than that, it's all good. -thumbs up- Yeeeeah... I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Flower**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan (for a double review), _**Butterfly**_-san, _**Gryphon**_-san and **_Vince_**-san! Onward towards the bad-assery!

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirty

Aisa: _Trust is Relative_

Really, the question I should be asking is if I should trust them or use them. Normally, this would be a relatively simple decision to make, as I naturally distrust people from the start nowadays and easily manipulate them, though something this time around is telling me to at least hold off. They have not put shackles on me quite yet and there seems to be no inclination to in the near future. I've read their souls and they seem _**kind**_. Too kind. It's not right how bloody fucking kind they are.

Despite the fact they give me a right awful headache sometimes, I've been observing them quite carefully. "_Them_", of course, is referring to the Mugiwara Kaizokudan, the latest riffraff to take me in, picking me off of my island and having me heal one of their own. The damn boy had a simple virus that was left untreated and had they gone any longer he would have died, blasted idiots. The virus was a common one when I was still living at home, so they should be thankful that I at least remembered the cure after all this time. Once their friend was cured, every one of them was jumping for joy, huzzah, let's party and all that fucking jazz. Whatever. Proper food was due, as I was rather tired of the local island cuisine. Not much variety yielded from bits of various fruit and a few gamey creatures, so the prospect of a decent, civil meal probably was the most of what I had wanted at the time of agreeing to the pact.

That girl, the one who assisted me, she sure was one hell of a cook, even if she did hold a mediocre spice rack. The one I had treated was even up for supper, although he didn't eat much. There was more than plenty though, even if he would have had an appetite. Meats and vegetables and noodles and puddings and I don't even know what the one sauce was. She had gone all-out for the awakening of the crewmate.

During supper, I stayed silent and tried to concentrate on each individual pirate in turn. It was quite a chore, since all I had dealt with for a while were the small game animals, but it felt accomplishing to exercise my mantra again. I delved deep into their emotions, reading each one carefully like an open book, as none of them even knew that mantra existed.

The one with the straw hat... the apparent captain. She seems carefree enough, yet on the island I remember catching a sense of deep fear when she was attempting to recruit me. She is the one holding the power that immobilized me, the power stolen from another. If I could read her memories as well as her emotions, I am sure she would not appear to be the same person. Still, there was a glow about her that was, well, unnatural. I believe that her hat might have been the source, but hats don't emit auras, voices and thoughts. Maybe it is connected to the hat; it shall only be a matter of time before I figure it out.

Meek and dainty, I almost didn't need my mantra to read the cook. She outwardly showed her personality as being gentle and caring. The woman even went as far as cooking individual meals for all of us, which baffled me as to how she knew I enjoyed fried octopus and rice. If there was anyone who I could have manipulated the easiest, it would have been her. She should not be a pirate, no matter how wretched the world has become.

The long-haired man, the one who supposedly knew medicine, what a loser. I could sense the mediocrity as soon as I saw him back on the island. More scholarly than the others, he is more suited to a life of desk work than piracy. Oooh, how frightening, a pirate bookkeeper, captain of the ruddy Crimson Permanent Assurance or whatever the hell that stupid thing was. I don't like him; not one bit. Too flashy with that brain of his... bloody prick.

The old one... his inner voice was stronger than I expected for some reason. Older people, in my experience, normally allow their voices to dim as the new generation comes to lead the way, yet his voice was just as strong as the others in the galley near half his age. He was the father of the group, lecturing and arguing with the others. I felt his connection to a family; it was strong and determined to reunite with them. He doesn't realize how lucky he is to have them, let alone how lucky his family is that he wants to return and that he even exists. For a while, I stared at that scar, flashing back to when I first had seen him. Moron.

There was a particular man who argued double-time with the older one. He was a flirt and disputed things as my beauty and modesty with the old man, who obviously thought I was a "shameless witch-doctor" of sorts. Every time the younger defended or praised me, something in his conscious flared. I thought it was his version of attraction at first, yet when he referred to the cook, the flare was the same. He mentioned another woman, someone not present so I not pay attention, and there was a different sort of flare. Pity to say, but he was basically all talk and no bite. He had too much shame on his shoulders to truly be of any use after-hours. I am sure that I can figure out what he is so ashamed of once he's asleep. Those carrying shame dream about said shame and dreams to me are similar to a spectacular flip book.

Another man there was almost the opposite of the flirt. He was an introvert and actually was clearly attracted to the captain. He said nothing of the inkling the entire meal, but his feeling was as obvious to me as the sun is in the sky. I can say though, that he hid the physical aspects of the feelings exceptionally well. He held a ferocious battle-fire in him though that remained unfound; dangerous in its slumber. If there was a breaking point on that one, it should by no means be reached. Anger was stored deep within him, boiling, brewing and maturing in order to yield near a demon. I bet he does not even realize it exists, as he seemed rather, well, _average_. He was the idiot I had caught in my trap on the island, so I doubt he knows a damn thing.

The one I had healed, he almost made me laugh. He was the foil to the world itself, cracking jokes and making a spectacle of himself. The idiot was even foolhardy enough to try some sort of acrobatic stunt on the table when the ship pitched unexpectedly. The old man had to catch him, something that ended in the younger's inner voice spiking so violently that it hurt my brain. It was an experience long past, yet still vivid, that stirred the fool. I could tell that the older man was rather confused by the curt thanks and yelping leap from his arms, but he was blinded by a near fatherly love. The others shared a similar, sibling sort of love for the fool, yet the know-it-all seemed to have a sense of knowing about him as if he knew the precise problem.

Hold on, back up; there was one other who seemed to understand. His voice took a while to interpret. It was the idiot redhead that asked before supper if I was smoking a "stoagie". I had told him yes and his refined response was something along the lines of "Dude". Tch, it's called a cigarette, you dumb-arse. There was some damage on this one, probably from something related to his friend's skittishness about being held, making him a bit slower than he should have been. External head injury? Most likely. Flaming shame, as he was so strong physically, he could take down everyone in the entire room singlehandedly, except myself of course, and win. I doubt he could have taken me on, even in a thousand lifetimes.

We finished our meal and everyone had stuck around at the end while the cook was washing dishes. Not wanting to be rude, I stayed behind as well. Before long, the captain had cleared her throat and spoke.

"Aisa-chan, I would like you to join our crew."

"Not a chance," I said.

"Why not?"

"Warriors don't play games," I replied. The old one answered before his captain could get a chance.

"What part of being a pirate is a game to you?" he snapped.

"Whether you like it or not, I can tell you lot are something else. I've never met pirates with auras like yours. I sense kindness, aspirations, true loyalty and comradery. I have sailed the Grand Line for most of my life and you are the first bunch in years to all be of this sort of thinking and I do not wish to be drug down into mediocrity because of it." Alright, maybe I over-did it a shade, but it got their attention.

"We are not the same kind of pirates that rule today," the little long-haired asshole said. "We are the pirates of our childhood; we care more about our friends and our dreams than shedding blood and counting berri. I will readily admit I am second-rate at medicine and that none of us are going to stay healthy forever. Please, what do you say? Food, shelter, nakama... what more could you want?"

"Privacy," I replied. True, what he was saying did make sense, but I wanted to test the waters. "I require my privacy, no matter the situation. I always need a fresh stock of herbs and spices and most importantly, I need your promise."

"Promise?" the cook squeaked.

"I am never again to go into thraldom. A life of servitude is worse than death to a warrior as I." Patiently, I awaited a response.

"You know we're on a mission?" the captain smiled. "One of our nakama is lost and we need to find her."

"She might be close to death by the time we arrive if you've truly been searching for as long as I believe you have."

"That is why we need you still."

All at once, I could feel their emotions. Everyone wished for me to stay, sans the old man who was still just trying to remember who in the hell I was. They felt genuine and steadfast. It took me a few seconds to properly assess the situation and the voices in the room and only after that did I speak.

"Temporary alliance," I said, extending my hand. "I may join for good after finding this renegade of yours, I may not. I am free to make my own choices."

"Fine," the captain said, shaking my hand with a smile.

What a ship of pigeons.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Yeeeah... I don't know why, but when I read this chapter out loud to myself (to check word/sentence fluency, I swear!) I immediately slip into an accent that is somewhere between Londoner and Aussie, believe it or not. How freakin' sweet is that? Also, I will have Aisa explain more about how/why she's in the Grand Line later. Right now, it's explosion time. Oh, and I apologize over the "stoagie" statement. That's just referencing my one brother whenever he sees my concept drawing of Aisa. I doubt he even knows what that word means. Anyways, next chapter is wicked sweet. I just want to wave it around and stuff, pointing excitedly like some small child who drew a picture for her teacher._


	32. Incarceration

Jeezum crowe... I am becoming ill... -coughs up lung- Constitution check! -rolls D20- Eighteen! Good; I'll live. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Gryphon**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan, **_Flower_**-san and _**Butterfly**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirty One

Tashigi: _Incarceration_

Somehow I knew I was between being asleep and in pain. My body felt cold and weak. Unwillingly, I fluttered back towards consciousness and attempted to assess my situation to see if it had worsened. A cool breeze ran over my back, sending chills up my spine and down my arms. I could still feel fabric on my front, so it was clear that the backless shirt was there only to expose my scar. My wrists were raw as seastone shackles surrounded each wrist, connected together by thick chain links. Keeping my eyes closed, I moved my brow up and down to test it for movement. I felt a cracking sensation above my right eye and a trickle of warm poured down the side of my face. My breathing was heavy, the sharp, biting air searing my raw lungs with every inhale.

"She is awake, sir," said a familiar voice. I bit my upper lip, because I knew what that voice brings. The only rest I have gained is through the periods when I black out and lose all sense of consciousness. They refuse to even switch to a boy's pussy for me. Always that nasty cat, sent anywhere they please. Back, front, legs, arms, got the face once or twice on accident... I know that I must be barely recognizable.

"What says you today?" comes another voice, thick and gravelly as it hit my being. I heard the creaking metal of my pen open and his heavy footsteps thump on the cold stone floor. "Is our little prisoner going to agree to my terms or is there still a little more persuasion required?"

"I am not doing anything for or with you," I said. Keep the eyes closed; just do not look at him. His wheezing came closer and I felt the warmth of his breath on my cheek.

"You know very well piracy and vagabond-ism is illegal here in my beautiful country. I have offered you day after day full pardon and a chance to rule at my side, yet you have refused. What woman chooses disfiguration over riches?"

"Then declare me to not be a woman."

There was silence then. He had backed away, probably in dramatic effect. If I had my sword... if I was not so cornered and helpless... then the situation would have been potentially less humiliating on my part.

"You long have turned too... _marked_... at this point to have become my Queen. There have been more than enough chances. Now tell me, where are your nakama?"

"What nakama? I travel alone."

Suddenly, I felt something press hard against my back, flat and chilled to the touch. A few seconds pass and my scar, the horrible reminder of mine, exploded in pain. I let out a scream, but I tried to contain and restricted it to a whine. My breathing became shallow, stuttered and high-pitched. The flat surface forced the rest of my back into submission, setting aflame even wounds not yet fully clotted. I was pressed into the stony wall; closed in between the simultaneous sensations of the burning surface and the freezing stone. I tried to stop my body from shaking, but I simply could not.

"You know who I mean," the crusty voice continued. "I have intelligence that you traveled with the Mugiwara Kaizokudan less than a year before you were apprehended and brought here. You have the ability to infiltrate and present to me my ticket to a seat in Rizado's Court. I can still make you powerful. All you need to do is tell me where those pests are."

"You are not even worthy to kiss Taisa's sandals," I said. Every word was a chore. The flat surface pressed me harder. I gritted my teeth, trying my damndest to not cry. I felt the silent eyes of other prisoners, bystanders in nearby cells, wondering fearfully if they were going to be next in line for such handling.

"There was some desertion, whether they deserted you or you deserted them. Some ill will has to be held against them somehow."

"I was on my own journey: one they could not go on. No insults were spoken."

"I guess it seems as if the prisoner _does _require some more persuasion," the voice said. "Chess! Kuro-marimo!"

"Hai!"

"I want you to keep at it until her blood fills every crack on the cell floor. Take turns if you must, but no breaks for her." There was a pause and suddenly the voice was next to my ear, wheezing and steamy. "If by some miracle you live to the morning, we are only going to go through this again."

"All hail Mugiwara Rika, Pirate King and Roger's Heir; she will be the downfall of your kind. She is not even a man and is already more of one than you will ever be."

I heard him grunt and storm out of an earshot. The flat surface was removed from my back, only for the sting of the cat to rip into it anew. White-hot ripping tore at my arm, wrapping around me and pulling me down by force. The floor was as cold as always, leaving an almost burning sensation on my open wounds. I opened my eyes and looked up, staring into the eyes of my motley-dressed torturer. I half-expected him to raise his arm again and strike, or even kick me. Instead, he bent down and held out his hand.

"We can help you," he said. "We can make this pain stop. All you need to say is even the general location of your former shipmates and you will be richer than any woman on the island. Trust me when I say that the General and I are kinder than our Majesty."

"If you want to waste your kindness on me, then switch to a smaller cat," I spat. He retracted his hand and planted a swift kick to my midsection. Already weak, I doubled-over in pain only to have his boot connect with my forehead. I found myself spread-eagle on the ground and the man pressing his boot into my chest.

"I guess that some people were just born fools," said the one referred to as a general. He was leaning on the metal grating of my cell. "Didn't I tell you she wouldn't cooperate?"

"Reminds me of that Ushi-Ushi idiot," snarled the other, his tune towards me changing considerably. He leaned forward on his leg, pressing me down onto the smooth stone beneath me. His hard glare came beating down on me and I did the ultimately unthinkable, unforgivable act. It was such a sudden and random action for me, that I could not remember the last time I had sincerely done such a thing. It was so strange, that I was not even sure why I did it.

I took a deep breath and laughed.

I laughed at the man above me, the one holding the cat tightly in his left hand. I laughed at the General, the Emperor, the other cell rats, the villages... I laughed at everything about my past and I laughed long and hard. I even laughed through more lashings, as I was not done when I was kicked over and whipped again. Something possessed me long enough to have me laugh until I was knocked unconscious. I had become hysterical and I knew that wherever that supposed king was, he heard me.

Everything became black again and I knew that my death was close at hand.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_This was, by far, one of the most fun chapters to write in the entire story so far. It almost beats the chapter where Tashigi "convinces" Kappa to go to Yuuenchi. Maybe it's something about that girl, I bet. Anyways, I bet some of you are wondering what just happened and... yeah. My featured deviation of deviantART now makes sense. Remember Tashigi's laugh. That is critical information right there. Now the weirdo's gonna go away for a while. -nod-_


	33. The Search Continued

Well, now this Armistice Day was a success! I have yet to be scolded severely for my historical one-shot, which emboldens me. Now if only I can remember to write for other birthdays... then I'd be set. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Gryphon**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Flower**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Rose**_-chan!

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirty Two

Tamanegi: _The Search Continued_

With the addition of Aisa to the crew, our adventures seemed to flow along much more fluidly. We had in reality sailed for months, yet only a few weeks seemed to have passed in our hearts. Morale was generally up and considering our morale was not all that hearty to being with, it was almost as if there was a miracle onboard ship. I am not sure what exactly Aisa had contributed to the party to allow daily life to ease its toll on us, but whatever it was obviously worked quite well. Maybe it was the fresh, new blood she possessed, allowing us to create new experiences and hold new conversations. She never did divulge too much information about herself, other than that she had at least a cousin at one point in time... but even the cousin's fate was unknown to us. Retrospectively speaking, she really should have made the crew uneasy but even Paulie, the ship's cynic and nagging parental voice, became more at ease. I was drawn to the woman myself simply because due to a faint hunch that I had. There was something strangely exotic and elegant about her, despite the fact she was about as coarse and unrefined as many of my male nakama. She is most definitely a sight to see with her many tattoos and various weapons of mystery. I caught her training late one night when she had watch and saw the most amazing sight of her enveloped by a tornado of wind and flame. She emerged unscathed and began practicing close-hand combat with a set of two short staffs. That was when I began to be drawn towards her an investigative fashion. She was, as a person, most intriguing... especially since I can sense that she could tell I was there.

We sailed forth and met our dues and adventure as they came and finally by the time we reached an island called Lembas, I had calculated that our search for our Tashigi had progressed to roughly a year and two month's time. Our tactic had been from the start to go from island to island, asking around or sniffing about for clues leading us to a girl with green hair. Naturally, hardly anyone has green hair anymore, unless from a certain group of tribes located in a remote corner of the East Blue, as I have come to understand. Since rumor has it that they were near wiped out by war, I was most certain that for naturally occurring green hair, Tashigi would basically be it. There were a few leads, yet they all ended in disaster, more or less. Frankly, it lead me to distrust the leads that were gathered and when we finally did get a hold of something potentially "legit", I was most wary.

You see, it was in Lembas when we were first told of an island just a few days sail from there, one where we did not want to go. The magnetic log in the Pose resets itself to go to one of three islands after Lembas, one for each phase of their Autumn isle. What felt like a briskly normal Spring and Autumn yielded a Pose setting towards Ogon, which was a Spring isle in type. The stiff, humid summer let the setting point towards Zoa, another Summer isle of near cookie-cutter make. The dry, cold winter however, was a time when travelers most often brought and bought Eternal Poses. The magnetic force would lock onto an island, an island which was never named by the inhabitants of Lembas out of fear. It was a Winter isle, held tightly by the rule of a tyrant gifted with a Devil's Fruit. Reportedly, no one returns from this isle alive. When Rika heard this rumor, she was immediately attracted to it. She wanted to go and refused to take no for an answer. Kappa tried his damndest to convince her otherwise, yet her mind was made up. We made sail for the nameless isle as soon as the Pose set, leaving a morose port filled with citizens assuming we had a death wish.

As we sailed closer to the island, I felt a distinct sense of dread in the air. The crew was nervous. I do not blame anyone for being so. Despite the fact that we had always traveled to unknown adventure, this was an adventure that was from the start potentially deadly and unnamed. There were no applicable counter-methods to the winter isle's implied cruelty. We were truly lambs going into the lion's den.

As usual, Chabo was the one who spotted the island. The days and nights previous had been characterized by temperatures below freezing, the biting cold preventing all but him from assuming the crow's nest post. The rest of us were in the galley, trying desperately to stay warm. Moda was baking and Ninjin was keeping a wood stove burning in attempts to create heat. Things had just gotten comfortable when Chabo burst into the room, bringing with him a draft of chilling air.

"Hey you guys, I found it! The island's dead ahead! We're only about a few hours' sail away!"

"Get in here you fucking idiot!" Kappa snapped, jumping up to pull our lookout into the room and slam the door shut. "Are you brain-dead or something!?"

"I'm only doing my job Kappa-kun!" Chabo whined, looking morosely at the navigator. "Why can't you ever give me a break?"

"Since the day I've met 'cha you've always been a little idiot and I don't think that's gonna change any time soon." Kappa grunted and glared at Chabo. I really do wish that Kappa would cease to speak to Chabo like that. We are nakama and that sort of talk fails to yield to confidence-boosting. I am not saying that he should praise every thing the man does, as he does with the women, but finding less harsh of words would be a start.

"Come on! I want to get a look at that island!" Rika cheered, braking up the scene. She grabbed her coat from the peg on the wall and ran outside. The rest of us quickly followed, as to all stand together and share body heat.

The island was massive, to say the least. The cold grey-green sky silhouetted a series of oddly-shaped mountains in the center of the island. Barely any wind was present, leaving an eerily silent damper to the air.

"So, do you really think she's there?" Paulie asked. He took a step closer towards Rika and coughed viciously, halting in his tracks.

"Don't cough up a lung, Paulie-ji," Rika smiled broadly. "We've got an adventure to go on."

"Oh, she's serious," Piiman said, his voice in clear disapproval.

"Tashigi-chan's here! I can feel it!" Rika laughed. "We're all gonna go, so we can find her quicker!"

"Someone needs to watch the ship!" I retorted.

"...and who seriously would be able to move a ship like this in this weather if we bring it far enough into port it gets caught in the ice?..." Paulie added, as if experiencing an epiphany. "That's right! I installed a device that can crack the ice if we ever get caught in it, but I doubt any one else can figure it out! No one will even think about touching our ship."

"Locals with torches," Ninjin replied, trumping Rika and Paulie's joint proposal instantly. I laughed slightly at his sharp, albeit classic Ninjin, response.

"We'll be safe leaving the ship," Aisa said. She walked ahead of even Rika and stood on the prow rail so as the faint wind caught in her hair. "This island's people are on our side. They need heroes and we very well may be it."

"How can you tell?" Rika asked.

"I just know," Aisa responded. She turned her head so that we could all see her canine smile. "Trust me. I have a feeling this island is going to be one of the highlights of our lives."

* * *

Author's Notes

_No, Tamanegi is not a stalker. You are confused. He's just a "people watcher". -laughs- I bet you can all tell what's coming up next. Wouldn't winter on a Winter island be pretty damn cold? I'm thinking so. I, myself, love winter, but I think that's a little too much winter for me. Oooh... my feet are cold just talking about it... no... wait... that was because I went outside without shoes on earlier. It's cold outside and I love it. -grins-_


	34. Ice Desert

American Thanksgiving's coming. Wanna know what I'm thankful for? Other than the given food/shelter/job/schooling/family/friends... fanfiction, One Piece and reviewers. Those things rock out loud. I do not own _One Piece_. I am also thankful to the following reviewers: _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Gryphon**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirty Three

Moda: _Ice Desert_

We sailed into the harbor and docked the _Sorrow_-go next to a tall wall of rocks. Kappa-san called it a fjord. It was almost nighttime and Tamanegi-san said that we couldn't go out or we would freeze to death. So we stayed inside and tried to keep warm. It was really hard, because it got so cold and we only had so much wood left on the ship that we could burn. Chabo-san let me curl up next to him when we were going to sleep that night in the galley. It was really nice of him and it helped a lot, since the wood stove didn't do too much to heat the room. Well, we all sort of ended up in a big pile anyways, because when I woke up in the morning to start breakfast Piiman-san was using my lap as a pillow and Rika-san was sprawled out over Chabo-san and Paulie-san. I know that this never would have flown if we weren't so cold. We were already wearing thick clothes, so the fact we were still so cold was kind of scary. I really wanted Ace-san there. He would have been able to help us out a lot with his powers.

Anyways, when we had breakfast and finally saw the first little bit of sunlight, we went outside. It was snowing and the further we went, the colder it felt. The wind made it feel colder than it really was. We moved so slowly and couldn't tell where we were going and by nighttime, I am just glad that we found a cave that we could all stay in. There was plenty of wood from outside and we got a nice fire going. It was only a little warmer than in the ship, but at least we didn't all have to sleep in a pile.

Morning came again and after a very cold breakfast of bread and fruit, we went out into the snow again. It was still snowing wildly. I think it was a really bad blizzard, but I still saw animals out. There was a huge bear walking along that looked at us oddly. Ninjin-san and Rika-san almost got run over by a pack of reindeer. I could also at one time see a large bunny-shaped shadow through the snowstorm, but I didn't mention it to anyone. A bunny is a bunny, right? I might be able to make a nice stew if I get one of the guys to kill one for me. I can't kill it though. I'd let it go, since I'm just like that.

The snow wouldn't stop. It felt like forever until we saw lights out in the storm. Happily, we ran towards them and saw that it was a village, but saw that no one was outside. I don't blame them, since everything was so cold.

"What I wouldn't give to be in one of those houses right now..." Piiman-san shivered. I agreed with him.

"Well, why don't we ask?" Rika-san suggested with a smile. I didn't like that smile. It always meant trouble. She went up to the nearest house and knocked on the door.

"I don't think..." Chabo-san began. He was cut off by Rika-san's shouting.

"Please let us in! We need some place to stay until the storm lifts! We have our own food and supplies and we won't be too much a bother! Promise!" The door swung open to reveal a little old lady who looked like she was a sweet grandma otherwise.

"Go away!" she said in a mean voice. "Get off this island! It is not safe for travelers!"

"Please! We need to get out of this wind!" Rika-san said.

"Leave us alone! Are you trying to get us killed!?" The old lady slammed the door in Rika-san's face. She turned around and looked at us with worry.

"We have to find somewhere, now," she said. "Kappa-kun, do you remember the way back to the cave?"

"Even if I did, I can't navigate in this storm!" Kappa-san said.

"So you're saying we're fucked?!" Paulie-san shouted angrily.

Suddenly, I began to feel very woozy. As the others argued, they sounded like they were on the other side of the ship from me. I was really cold. The soft grey of the sky grew darker and it was harder to stand. It was hard to breathe too.

"Moda-chan..." Ace-san? Was Ace-san there? Maybe it was Rika-san.

I remember falling forward into the snow. I heard Aisa-sensei's voice and more pleading for us to be let in a house. My body wouldn't move. I felt myself being picked up and then being a little warmer. I was riding on Ninjin-san's back.

"Hang on Moda-chan," I heard Rika-san say. "We'll find someplace real quick."

"Where are we going to find someplace!?" Piiman-san argued. "Everyone in the village has turned us down!"

"I don't know," Rika-san said. "I seriously don't know, but we need to get somewhere warm quickly or Moda-chan might die."

Die? Me? No! No, no! I still want to see Ace-san again! Everything always seems right when he's around! I want to see him again and thank him for being such a good friend to me! I can't die!

Everything went dark and I was afraid. I want to wake up. Please body, wake up.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Apologies on the brevity (and potential lameness) of the chapter. I guess I'm falling into this habit of really long chapters, followed by really short ones. The next chapter's pretty cool though. Just trust me, right? Cool._


	35. Dr Kureha

Yeah. -nod- In some ways, it nearly feels as if I'm on Drum Island. I don't have vast amounts of snow and large, oddly-shaped mountains near me, but it's pretty damn cold outside. Ever been barefoot on pavement in sub-zero Centigrade weather? Exactly. I do not down _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Gryphon**_-san, _**Sakura**_-san and _**Flower**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirty Four

Chabo: _Dr Kureha_

I don't know how long we walked with Ninjin carrying around Miss Moda on his back like that, but it must have been a while, since the temperature had dropped considerably. It was also dark, which made it more difficult to see. Tamanegi was saying that we needed to find shelter quickly, or we all would die in the cold. That scared me, since Miss Moda had already collapsed, being the smallest of us. It would've had to get really cold for the rest of us to drop like that too.

That was when we saw it. In the distance, I thought I saw a house. It was in the middle of nowhere, so no one believed me at first. Then we went closer and saw that it really was there... a small stone house with a shingled roof and a large stack of firewood against the outer wall. Captain Rika, Dr Aisa and I burst into the small hut, ready to act at the first sign of trouble. To my relief, the place was unoccupied and we didn't have to fight anyone.

"Good," Captain Rika said as soon as she figured no one else was there. "We should be able to stay here until the storm passes."

"Someplace warm!" Piiman cheered, running into the small hut happily as soon as he realized everything was alright. Ninjin came in quickly afterwards, placing down Miss Moda on the sofa. Pretty soon, she was able to wake up. It made me glad to see her awake again. Dr Aisa said that she was suffering from hypothermia, so it was a good thing we found a place for Miss Moda.

"I don't know about this place," Mr Paulie said as he took a good look around. "This place feels strange."

"I don't know how that should matter to you Old Man," Kappa-kun said. He and Mr Paulie exchanged glares, like usual, while Tamanegi got the fire going in the fireplace.

I would never have said it then, but I did have to agree with Mr Paulie. The hut was old and pretty dusty in some places. In a corner, herbs and small, dried-out animals hung from the exposed rafters. I could tell that there must have been a bed in the rafters as well, since there was a ladder at one end of the room leading up to what was solid ceiling for us. Dozens upon dozens of bottles sat on the many shelves that lined the walls. Tables sat along these walls covered in equipment that all looked strange to me. There were many tubes and containers made from glass and on the one table I found a flame carefully heating a container filled with some purple gunk.

"Someone still lives here," I said. "See? This little fire here is still going."

"Then I'm sure that they'll understand the situation when they get home," Captain Rika said with a smile. Her smile made me feel better; it always does somehow.

Soon, the fire was warm and we were able to take off our coats. Once Miss Moda felt better, she unpacked some of the bread and fruit that she had packed for us and we all ate dinner without taking anything from our uninformed host other than the heat from the fire. Nighttime soon fell completely, although it made little difference now that we were inside.

"I wonder when it is going to stop outside," Dr Aisa asked, staring blankly out the window. "All this snow is _unnatural_."

"I bet you just grew up in a very warm place," Captain Rika smiled. "It's okay if you're not used to it." Yeah, I love it when she smiles like that.

"This is normal for winter islands," Kappa-kun added, edging only a little closer to Dr Aisa. "If you desire to be warmer, I would be more than happy to share my body heat..."

"Bugger off. This just would not have been considered normal in my neck of the woods," Dr Aisa replied angrily, shoving away Kappa-kun.

"Where did you grow up anyways?" I asked. "Most of us came from the East Blue and I remember it could get both really warm and really cold there. Were you from another one of the Blues or the Grand Line?"

"I lived nowhere any of you have ever heard of."

"Oh, please tell us Aisa-sensei!" Miss Moda asked. "Then we can learn about someplace new!" I do not know what had caused Miss Moda's sudden enthusiasm, but it brought out the answer that we all never expected.

"My island was in the sky."

I'll admit that I didn't believe Dr Aisa at first. Islands are part of the ocean floor, poking above the surface of the water. I had never heard of a floating island before and was ready for her to grin evilly, as she does sometimes when she tricks us, until Tamanegi spoke up.

"Are you one of the people called Skypieans?" he asked. To be honest, I was pretty surprised that he was able to say something, but it must have been something big because it made Dr Aisa flush.

"I am not one of those uptight, self-worshiping thieves!" she snarled, standing up straight. She quickly reached for Tamanegi and held him by a fistful of shirt. "I don't know how you know of them, but don't you ever compare me to one of them again! It will be that know-it-all scalp of yours if you do! I am a Shandian, proud and of honored blood! We were and always will be at least twice the people those Angel Islanders thought themselves to be!" She then threw him to the ground, letting out a noise kinda sounding like a snort. Tamanegi looked like he was going to mess himself.

"Touchy, aren't we?" Mr Paulie asked. He and the rest of us were all pretty shocked, but he was the only one who said anything. "Why didn't you go back the way you came if you take such pride in your people?"

"I... I can't!" Dr Aisa said. "That's impossible for m...!" She then gasped and turned around to face the door. She crouched down into a fighter's stance and growled. "Someone's here."

Everyone moved quickly. Kappa-kun was fast to move Miss Moda behind him and everyone else was ready to break out their weapons at any second. The door opened and it seemed as if no one was there because the snow was blowing too hard. Then a woman walked in, calm and collected. The woman looked ancient from the neck up, more around my age from the neck down and for some reason was dressed in thin clothes that only just covered her skin. Over her shoulder she had slung a bag that was large and puffy.

"What are you doing in my house?" she snapped. Captain Rika ran out between Dr Aisa and the owner of the hut and put on her best pleading face.

"I'm sorry we came in without permission, but we are travelers and were stuck in the storm! There was no other place for us to go or we would have frozen to death! We will leave as soon as the snow passes, I promise!"

"Travelers, huh?" the woman said. She carefully laid down the bag and took from it what looked like a bundled up, sleeping baby, just a little tuft of his brown hair peeking out from under his hood. "Then you better get moving before the storm lifts. Wapol doesn't like just anyone wandering around in his country."

"Wapol? I never knew that we were walking into the infamous Drum Empire, otherwise I would have not wanted to come," Tamanegi gasped. He sounded like he was still pretty scared, which is never a good thing.

"Of course," the woman said. She sat down in a chair and looked at us with a kind of creepy smile. "Now that I get a look at you, I think that you are the ones he's after."

"What?" Captain Rika asked. "I've never heard of this man before. Why would he be after us?"

"To get in Rizado's favor and advance his political status in the world, what else could any leader want with you?" the woman shrugged. She stood up and placed the baby on the chair before turning to face us. "You _are _the Mugiwara Kaizokudan, right?"

"Yeah," Captain Rika answered. "We're looking for a friend of ours. Her name is Tashigi and she..."

"...would most likely be up at the castle on the highest summit of the Drum Rockies," she said nonchalantly. "Wapol keeps all prisoners there in his dungeon. If your friend was here, she would have been caught by now. My place is the only one on the island not checked because my old one was destroyed and they take me for dead. Many travelers such as yourselves come here and are snatched up by Wapol's guard simply for existing." She pointed towards the baby and sighed. "Even the boy's mother was taken, and she was only trying to reunite with the family she had been separated from. So many come here either alone or in groups and try to find sanctuary. All they get is the dungeon."

"That's wrong," I thought out loud.

"That's life," Dr Aisa scoffed. "Leaders are not always good ones. Many are nothing more than mediocre, but a tyrant is not an oddity in this world."

"True, but how are we going to take down an entire castle?" Kappa-kun asked.

"Castle? I don't think we can cover the whole fucking castle," Mr Paulie coughed.

"I'd brave the whole castle," Kappa-kun muttered. He would have done so for any of the girls. He's just like that.

"You're mad if you're willing to do that," the woman shrugged. "All I can even do now is just help along the stragglers. Wapol even keeps the island's doctors for himself. What I do is heal those who are sick, at a price."

"Price?" Ninjin asked. The woman nodded.

"For example, that baby sitting on the chair is not the first that has been left with me by a mother in trouble. I find homes for the brats and as payment to me for being such a good doctor, the people take them without complaint. I might keep this one though. I'm not getting any younger and I need someone to take my place eventually."

I looked at the baby laying on the chair. So, his mom is a prisoner just because she came here to Drum? That's not right. It made me sad to think about it.

"What's your name?" I asked. The lady smiled at me kind of creepily.

"Kureha."

* * *

Author's Notes

_So Moda was never in any danger at all. -shrugs- I enjoy the torture of fiction characters immensely, as I have come to understand that sometimes the best characters are the ones readers witness overcoming hurdles in their lives. Despite this, I am aware of the over-the-top-pathetic-meter that oftentimes happens and I will be attempting to stray away from that. Heehee... I enjoyed writing Aisa threatening Tamanegi. It felt good. Also, not Kureha. She will be very important, although the reasoning as to why will not be known until much later._


	36. A Less Than Innocent Desire

Okay, I think I beta-read this. Maybe... maybe not. shrugs Oh well. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirty Five

Kappa: _A Less Than Innocent Desire_

Fuck it. Just fuck it already! Why can't I let it go!? She doesn't deserve this, being in my thoughts all the time. _She __**used **__me. _I don't take lightly to being toyed around with like I'm some sort of object. One night stands are different. True and legitimate one-night stands are simply a fling where both sides are fine with being strangers and waking up in the morning and never seeing each other again. You can embarrass the hell out of yourself in front of a cheap fling, but when that girl sticks around for even a day, it's nothing but trouble. You aren't supposed to know a one night stand before getting it on, otherwise, there's just a little thing called "guilt" that comes attached. Fuck it all!

See, after she left, I was a wreck. _Total __**fucking **__**wreck**_. I couldn't get her out of my mind! I worried about her and wondered what happened to her. I would think about if she made it to Yuuenchi and even if she was alive. When no one was around, I'd talk to her door like she was actually in there. Yeah. I talked to a locked door that led to an empty room. I'd say stupid shit, you know. Just talk away as if she could hear me. The storm was a wake-up call. Had she not done what she did, we would have never hit that storm. We'd have gone to Muenster and not have thought nothing of it. Now instead, I've got the memory of one beautiful, bittersweet bitch of a night and I haven't been the same since. I can't praise My Moda and My Aisa without seeing her face or thinking about the feel of her skin against mine. I sit in the map room, plotting courses, and I then remember sitting in the faint lamplight, staring at that map of hers. She was the one in control and I was just unknowingly along for the ride. I'm so fucking pathetic.

It's still been a year and I can't forget her. Actually, it's been over a year. I still see her green hair sort of pass around the corner just ahead of me and sometimes I go down into the room where we stored her weights, just to imagine she was there. It's kind of ironic that I have flirted with women for years, yet only she makes me want more. Honestly, she was never very physically beautiful at first glance with her scowl and small breasts and the fact that she was positively ripped from training, but there was something that just made all that go away. It came with traveling with her, I think. It might have been how she smelled, how determined she was, her presence, how immune to my ways she was... there was just something made her different.

Now don't think I haven't at least tried to get rid of her and that night from my memory. When we're docked in port, I've gone out to taverns and I've tried picking up women purely to help get over the memory. Some of the women I could have honestly called goddesses, but somehow they all know that I'm just trying to forget another. Most don't even let me buy their drink for them. She's not even here and she's a fucking weight! That's why ever since that little faggot Piiman got sick, I've been having mixed thoughts. If we hadn't gone on this little trip _backwards_ down the Grand Line for her, I'd be serving under the Pirate King. She left us out of her own free will, but I still want her back. I at least want to tell her how much she hurt me. Then maybe I can fully move on.

We spent the night on the floor of that old witch's hut. The next day My Moda and My Captain took turns playing with the baby that was there. I never did like kids, being as how they are always loud and obnoxious and in the way. Even that dickweed Paulie's little brat was a little pain in the ass. I guess it's another one of those things I'll never understand. Yup, right up there with the way _her _brain works and how the fuck we all found each other to form the crew. I'll never get any of it... not a goddamn thing.

"So what you're saying is that we've got to climb all the way up there to get to where the castle is, even if she isn't there at all?" I asked, staring out the window I was sitting next to. It was morning and I could see what the old hag had called "Drum Rockies" the night previous. The storm had cleared up considerably, only a few bits of snow blowing from a drift remaining in the air.

"Yes," she laughed, watching as my captain and our chef played with the kid. "Wapol thinks living on the highest point in the land makes him like a god, so that is where he keeps his servants, soldiers and home."

"Any man who thinks he is a living god should be ousted from whatever sort of power he possesses," My Aisa said bitterly. I glanced over at her and sighed as I soaked in her rigid beauty. If only I could advance without the sick feeling of remembering that night, then I think I could die a happy man. Damn, she looks fine.

"Hey, look! I think he's trying to walk!" My Moda squealed, in reference to that stupid baby. I glanced over to see that the little rugrat was wobbling on its pudgy little legs, only to land back down hard on its rear end. It babbled something afterwards, but nothing that I could understand.

"Those mountains are a long way off," Chabo the Idiot said as he looked out the window too. "Do you think we can make it before sunset?"

"Of course we can, Idiot," I so graciously informed him. "Distance over land is different than that over sea. We can reach those mountains by midday if we leave soon and keep a good pace."

"How do you propose we get there, you little brat?" Paulie asked, like the pompous dickhead he is. "Can you see those cliffs? I doubt there's even a stronghold on them that my ropes could hold on to!"

The old hag laughed. "If you want to ever see your friend again, then you are going to have to figure out a way up that mountain! You better figure it out quickly, because I've never known Wapol to keep prisoners for very long."

"You know the way up to the castle, don't you?" My Aisa asked the old hag. "Why can't you just tell us the way up instead of sending us off to freeze before we even get there?!"

The hag stayed quiet. It wasn't a frightened type of quiet. It wasn't apprehensive or calculating or dramatic type either. Instead, she stared out the window with a hard face.

"Just be lucky that I am even doing this for you," she said, quickly turning away from the window. "I must be getting soft in my old age or something... letting a pack of hooligans just barge in unannounced, barely explained..." The hag stomped over to her table of bottles and potions and tried to keep herself busy, purposely ignoring us.

"So, what'd she say?" My Captain asked as she came over, clutching that squirming brat. "I thought I heard you guys talking to Kureha."

"We were, but we didn't get much as far as an answer," Paulie said. "All we know is that we've got to find some way to get up that mountain slope without falling off, just so we can see if that little troublemaker we've been searching for is even up there."

"Well, there's got to be some safe way up and down," My Captain said. She shoved the baby in my lap and nearly pressed her face up against the window glass. "The villagers last night were acting like if they let us in, then soldiers would come for them. Soldiers belong at a palace, right?"

"Correct," My Aisa agreed, "but what about getting there? What if we are so worn out that we get thrown in the dungeons along with this person we're looking for?"

"You're thinking too much Aisa-chan," My Captain smiled. "We'll figure it out; I know we will."

My listening-in on the conversation was then suddenly interrupted by the little brat that was still in my lap. Obviously, it thought it would be fun to try to climb on me and was trying to use my shirt for a handhold. It kept on reaching for my face, repeating "da" over and over. I tried to back my face away as much as I could, because like I said... babies are definitely not my thing.

"Oh, I think he likes you Kappa-san," My Moda said, coming over and taking the child away from my lap. It gurgled and tried reaching for me again, saying "da" like I was some piece of fucking baby candy. My Moda held the brat so that when it did try to reach for me, he was far enough away to where I didn't have to worry. The damn thing smelled.

"Moda-chan, we have to leave the tyke alone and leave," My Captain said, pushing herself away from the window and headed over towards where we had piled our jackets. My guess was that her, My Aisa, Idiot Chabo and the dickhead Paulie had come to some sort of recision about where to go from here and that was that.

"You hear that? Time to get movin'," Paulie said, nudging one of the Syrup Morons in the back. Most of the morning the three of them had been hovering over one of the books that Tamanegi had been writing in, giggling away like teenaged girls. I had tried to not listen to them, since when I did, all I had heard was something about a giant goldfish and a captain with eighty-thousand followers. Of all the things they want to do, they want to write fairytales.

As we walked out that door, I didn't want to go. I did not want to see her. She could rot in the dungeon for all I cared. She fucked up my life, but I had to go with the others. I could see her now, sitting there with some sort of pathetic "save me" look on her face like she hadn't eaten in days. That or she's not even there, instead on some other island far away from us, banging some other chump to get her way. She wasn't worth it. That beautiful, bittersweet bitch of a night was just simply not worth it.

Fuck it.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Angry thoughts! Kappa-kun has angry, angry thoughts! Read the angry parts out loud and you'll end up yelling. Just remember here, it's been well past a year; the man's had some time to mull it over. Think about it... would __**you**__ be angry? I would think so. Heehee... he hates babies. -laughs- I don't know why I find that so amusing, 'cause hey, small children somehow know I harbor that soft spot. I'll shut up now._


	37. I Like Warm Places

Lack of... pre-chapter rant... draining my power! Nooo! -face-plants- I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to **_Sakura_**-chan, **_Rose_**-chan and especially to **_Dixxy_**-san, who's reviews I still need to reply to, as he/she is going through this story and seems to be reviewing everything from the beginning. That so totally rocks out loud.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirty Six

Piiman: _I Like Warm Places_

Drum Empire is cold... _really, __**really**_ _**cold**_. I didn't like it, but Ninjin did. He thought it was fun to dive in the snowbanks and throw snowballs at Aisa. She didn't like it at all, since she ended up wrestling him to the ground and shoving his face in the snow. Paulie had to break it up, 'cause Aisa wasn't listening to Rika when she was telling her to stop it. Aisa always did kinda freak me out, but it's okay. She's pretty cool.

...but yeah, I was still cold. It reminded me of when Ninjin, Tamanegi and I were younger, back when Usopp-sama was still alive, we'd all play out in the snow whenever it fell. We never got much, but what did fall was enough to scrape together some muddy snowballs and maybe, on the good snowfalls, a snowman. On Drum, we could have made a thousand snowmen and still have leftover snow for miles.

We seriously did not know where we were going. Well, we knew we were going in the direction of the Drum Rockies, but other than that, nothing too much else. It took us all morning to get to the base of the mountain and once we did, it didn't look like we were any closer to getting to the top.

"These cliffs are too sheer to climb up," Paulie said, staring up the side of the mountain, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Even with the proper equipment it would be too dangerous for all of us to go straight up."

"So it's the perfect fucking fortress," Kappa said, spitting at the mountain. "How lucky they are to have a great defense such as this. I bet they built this." Tamanegi rolled his eyes and walked up to the dark rock and ran his hand over it.

"This is a basaltic igneous intrusion," he said. "The country rock must have eroded away long ago, leaving the tall butte-type structure. Most likely it was the final stage of a volcano, being as how the shape is nearly a perfect cylinder." Ow. That made my head hurt.

"Move out of the way ruddy imbecile," Aisa grumbled, shoving Tamanegi into the snow. She clapped her hands together, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then placed her hands on the dark rock.

"What are you doing Aisa-sensei?" Moda asked. Aisa's eyes snapped open and she looked like she was in a trance.

"We should move clockwise around the mountain. There's an opening there, about a kilometer from where we stand," she said.

"How can you tell Aisa-chan?" Rika asked. "You're just touching rock."

"There are guards stationed there," Aisa replied. "Two are posted every fifty metres."

"Every fifty metres?" Rika asked. I was kind of confused too, but luckily, Aisa explained.

"They're guarding a tunnel cut through the rock," she said. "Every fifty metres up, there's a new pair of guards. If we are able to take out the first pair swiftly, then the rest should be a piece of cake."

"Piece of cake?" Paulie asked. "We'll be moving in a tunnel!"

"The tunnel is large."

"How can you tell?!"

"Just trust me, _**okay?!**_" Aisa made a real angry face at Paulie, who made a real angry face back. I thought for a second that they were gonna fight right there, but Kappa and Rika stepped between them.

"Come on, let's just go Paulie-ji," Rika said, leading along Paulie. We all began walking to go left around the mountain. The wind began to pick up, making me shiver more than before. I saw Moda shivering too, like me, so I let her ride on my back. It made us both a little warmer, 'cause I don't want her to collapse like she did the day before. That was scary.

Before we knew it, what Aisa had predicted had come true. We all were hiding behind some really big rocks that were close to the large entrance of a tunnel, two guards on either side. They had guns and looked like they were much more used to the cold than we were.

"Never doubt a Shandian," Aisa laughed, peeking at the soldiers. She turned around and took out of her one pocket a shell that had a strap attached to it and pointed the open end into the wind.

"What's with the seashell?" I asked. Aisa glared at me, so I hid behind Ninjin. He's a good human shield like that.

"How do you think we're going to take them out quietly?" Rika asked. "I might be able to control their movements, but I can't control their screaming."

"I guess we're just gonna have to do it the old-fashioned way," Paulie said, cracking his knuckles and grinning. "I doubt they can stand a chance against me, mano a mano."

"They're half your age, fucktard," Kappa said. "Do you really think you can take them both without causing some alarm?"

"I can try," Paulie smirked.

"Neither of you are trying anything," Aisa said, strapping the shell to her hand.

"Aisa-chan, I really think we need to agree on our plan here... or at least know what you've got in store," Rika said, grabbing Aisa's elbow.

"Please let me do this," Aisa said. "You want to get up to the castle while staying as rested as possible, right?"

Rika nodded.

"Then let me lead this charge. If you really want to rescue this AWOL sap, then let me do this. I'm no fool when it comes to ambush attacks."

"...fine," Rika said. "Just be careful."

"Right," Aisa said, a kinda creepy smile going across her face. "Old Man, Kappa, Chabo, Ninjin, I want you guys right behind me. Once I knock those blokes to the ground, I want two of you each ganging up on one. It may seem a bit unfair, but we're going for surprise here. Don't kill, just render unconscious."

"What do the rest of us do?" I asked. Aisa shrugged her shoulders and made a scoffing noise.

"Just lay low until the coast's clear. It'll take just a jiff."

Silently, Moda, Rika, Tamanegi and I watched as Aisa took the others behind the rocks that were closest to the guards and kept hidden. I saw Aisa talk to the shell strapped to her hand and then hold it out, probably through a crack in the rocks.

Now I thought she had cracked or something. A seashell against two full grown men doesn't seem like a fair fight on the side of the seashell. What I had never expected to happen was that out of the shell came a huge burst of wind, strong enough to knock the two soldiers onto the ground. I don't think that anyone other than Aisa was expecting it, because Paulie, Ninjin, Kappa and Chabo almost didn't move when they were supposed to.

They did move though, even if they did take a few seconds to admire what Aisa had just done. Both of the guards were beaten up and the rest of us were able to join them at the mouth of the tunnel.

Don't worry Tashigi! We're coming to save you!

* * *

Author's Notes

_Gotta hand it to Piiman for title originality. He's a sharp one! Anyways, look at how I try to flaunt my limited geology knowledge. It's kinda funny, 'cause I think I got something wrong in Tamanegi's little rant. Oh well. Not like I'm being graded in here. Happy Sinter Klass/St. Nicolas to all those that celebrate and I'll see you next time!_


	38. The Castle

Ha. The time I put a major gap in my updating, it happens to be the time I use Ninjin's narrative. Figures. I'll update pretty soon to make up for it. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Gryphon**_-san, _**Flower**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Dixxy**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirty Seven

Ninjin: _The Castle_

Aisa is fucking awesome. I don't know how she got a shell to make wind, but it was cool. We got to run up the tunnel and beat up more guys. It was fun. Beating on the enemy makes me like a hero, like my sister. She was too cool. Yeah.

It took a little, but we made it to the top. There had been a lot of guards. When we did get outside again, it was damn bright. The sun hurt my eyes. The light was stronger than the torches in the tunnel.

"Come on! Let's get inside the castle!" Rika said. There were a bunch more soldiers, but Rika did that thing she does and made them all attack each other. We were able to get past them no problem.

"Fuck, this place is big!" Kappa said. We were inside and there was tons of places to go. The castle was really big on the inside with a lot of rooms and doors and halls.

"We're just gonna have to split up!" Rika said. "If we're gonna find Tashigi and Wapol, we're gonna need to cover a lot of ground."

"Why Wapol?" I asked. Rika smiled and used her "smart" look again.

"If he wants to get a hold of me that badly, I think I'll just take the fight to him." She turned to everyone and made her "smart" look stronger. "Paulie-ji, you take Piiman-kun and Chabo-kun and search the North Wing of the castle. I'll take Moda-chan, Tamanegi-kun, and Ninjin-kun to the South Wing. Kappa-kun, take Aisa-chan and search the towers. Castles have their dungeons in towers a lot, especially in places where dirt is too frozen to dig into. Tashigi-chan is most likely to be there. Any questions?"

"Yeah, why do I have to go with the lech?" Aisa said, pointing at Kappa.

"He knows what Tashigi looks like, is a pretty good fighter and probably can help you out if there's an issue. I want you to get a hold of Tashigi-chan just incase she's sick or something," Rika said.

"Makes sense," Aisa said.

"Then let's go before we're surrounded!" Paulie said. There were a bunch of soldiers starting to come from the halls. We broke up into groups and began fighting our way through the castle.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Duhn, duhn, DUUUUUUUHHHHN!!! It's time to lay the smackdown on the Drum Empire! What will happen next!? ...yeah. I know. I'll shut up now. This isn't even a freakin' page on WordPerfect._


	39. Roadblocks

Many apologies for the last chapter. Hopefully this one's a bit more to everyone's liking. I doubt anyone can compare this one to a doggie-treat! I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Gryphon**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san and **_Dixxy_**-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirty Eight

Paulie: _Roadblocks_

One of the things I've learned to hate over the years are the soldiers attached to a governmental power. Government soldiers fucked up my life, so not being able to trust them afterwards seems like it just sort of makes sense. Seeing Lucci and the rest of those little fuckers die didn't seem to be enough, because I think that as we made our way through the tunnel up to the castle and then through the castle, I was doing my best to cause as much damage as possible.

I had been stuck in a group with Chabo and Piiman, running through the North Wing of the Castle. Actually, it was the Eastern Wing, but I really did not have the time to argue it with Rika when she made the assignments. She was fairly good at saying things wrong, but still being understandable, so the details weren't too important. Besides, we had to find the little brat and the ass that supposedly ran Drum Empire. We seemed to be doing alright, for who I was stuck with. Chabo proved himself to be an above-average fighter, once he was able to steal a spear from one of the entrance guards. He was quick with it, using it like he used that axe back in Water 7. Piiman was the idiot who worried me. He tried using his gun, but was intimidated by the larger size of the soldiers and guards we came across. If we were against a bunch of rag-tag pirates like ourselves, he wouldn't have been such a damn chicken-shit, but these were hearty winter isle men, all at least twice his size. Chabo and I had to make sure he didn't get killed, but that's how it was for many battles. He should still buck up and fight for himself though. I'm just getting too old for this sometimes; it's bound to be unnatural.

The further we went into the castle, the more soldiers we seemed to encounter. They kept on popping up everywhere. None of them were particularly talented, so it was practically a waste of time and effort defeating them. I made sure to not kill anyone, because I'm sure I would have heard it from our fucking Witch Doctor if I did, but I at least made sure to knock them all out pretty well. I'd kick them as I went by to fight the next surge of opponents; they didn't deserve respect if they willingly obeyed the orders of a madman, provided that was what he was.

I didn't doubt what the old crone said before we left her place. For years I had heard rumors about all sorts of places in the Grand Line and the Blues and their cruel regimes. That's why I was surprised at first that Piiman and his friends survived the Kuroneko Kaizokudan and the East Blue. The Kuroneko Kaizokudan was supposed to have built a human trafficking system that reached into the North Blue and the Grand Line and over the years gained a reputation for being operated with more and more cruelty as time passed. Rumors of Drum were no less painful: a bitter tyrant, oppressed citizens, a crushed rebellion made by two Zoan Devil's Fruit users in which both were ultimately eaten while in animal form... some of the stories always made me sick to my stomach.

We had been fighting our way through the building when we came to a large, empty ballroom. None of the soldiers that were chasing us in the hallway followed, all of them standing in the hall as if they were _afraid_ to come in.

"What's going on?" Piiman asked, his knees shaking. "Why are they not coming after us?"

"Do you think it's the room?" Chabo asked, looking all around. Everything was stonework draped in rich reds, violets and golds. Long wooden tables and chairs lined each side of the hall lengthwise, leaving a large space for us to stand in the center. A similar table sat across the front of the room, a large golden chair in the center.

"They're afraid of a banquet hall?" I scoffed. Really, how pathetic. To be afraid of a place where you eat is absurd.

"So you have finally shown yourselves, vile intruders," laughed a voice. I immediately tensed as I scanned the room for the source of the voice. It was low and probably some of the syllables were emphasized just to sound possibly intimidating, but I knew better than to trust only a voice.

"Show yourself!" I ordered. Out from behind the high-backed golden chair stepped a man who barely looked intimidating at all. He looked to be pushing sixty, with heavily wrinkled brown skin and heavily greying black hair. A dark cape trimmed with fur and muffs of fur made him look more like an idiot old man than anything else. Parts of his hair were even styled to look like balls of fur. Great... we're dealing with a geriatric lunatic.

"What do you _children _think you're doing here?" he asked. Child? Me? Fucker. At least I don't look like an explosion of fur.

"What did you do to Tashigi-chan!?" Chabo yelled. Now I know why Kappa calls him an idiot. I smacked him on the back of the head and sighed.

"Oh, I don't think you want to know exactly all I've done to that little girl of yours," the old guy smirked. "She must have been the product of a pair of very hardy individuals, because I can't remember the last time someone's lasted that long before after being introduced to the cat."

Next to me, I heard Piiman shudder. My guess was that he was imagining the pain, but I was actually more interested in the way the old man put it. _**Lasted.**_ Has this entire search, almost two years, been for nothing? Did we come a day or two too late? If so, I'll be beyond pissed. All this time I have been against finding the little runaway, but if nearly two years of my life was just fucking wasted, I doubt I can keep my temper.

"A...Are you Wapol!?" Chabo shouted, trying to sound brave. He wasn't shaking as bad as Piiman, but his hands were unsteady as he held the spear.

"No, Wapol-sama is on the other side of the castle," the man laughed. "I am Kuromarimo, the general of all Drum's troops. You'll be dead before you even get out of this room, let alone have your corpses placed in front of Wapol-sama."

"I'd like to see you try," I snapped.

"Have it your way," Kuromarimo laughed, holding out his hands. "Static Marimo!" The muffs on his hands then began shooting off parts of itself. I dodged it alright, even though I had to fall on the ground, but Chabo was hit with two of them things, one on his hand and another on a foot.

"What the?!" he gasped, trying to shake the puffs off of him. Chabo stepped on the puff-ball attached to his foot and it stuck to the floor.

"Move Chabo!" I ordered.

"I can't!" he replied. The brat stared at me with a scared face. In fact, we both were so concerned with what the other was doing, he out of fright and I out of annoyance, that Kuromarimo suddenly came out of nowhere and stepped between us. The fucking old man was facing Chabo, so I couldn't see what he was doing, but in a split second, I knew what he had done.

"Steel Marimo."

Kuromarimo turned around and just past the swish of his cape I could see Chabo lying still on the ground. Those black things were not gone, but blood was coming from his forehead. I could also see Piiman running up to Chabo to see if he was alright.

"What the fuck?" I gasped. "What did you do...?"

"My marimo fur does more than just keep me warm, you know," Kuromarimo sneered. "Steel Marimo." He went to punch me, but I rolled on the ground just in time. The patch of stone where my head had been was crushed into rubble.

"Rope Action Double Bowline Knot!" I shouted, flicking my wrist and sending ropes flying. I was able to tie ropes around Kuromarimo's wrists and up his arms. He looked at me strangely, as if he wasn't quite sure as to what I was doing.

"Fighting with _ropes_, of all things," he scoffed, staring at his wrists. "A little, dare I say, _**kinky**_, don't you think? I bet you were a real popular one with the ladies in your prime." Oh, gross; like I really needed to be thinking things like that. Without saying anything, I jerked back my right arm, causing that sick fucker to lose balance and start spinning. Before long, he was wrapped up in the ropes, both arms unable to move.

"Where's the brat?" I asked, standing up straight so that I could stare him in the eyes. His face changed instantly from dead serious to dead frightened.

"North Tower, Fifth Tier, Cage Three," he squealed. "Now please... don't kill me...I beg you."

"Hey, you were the one talking about dumping corpses, not me," I shrugged. Kuromarimo's eyes grew wide in fear and Piiman finally got the courage mustered to pull the trigger. I would have thought that Piiman would have been a bit more familiar with the spray of blood that came with both placing the bullet in this guy's head, as well as when the bastard slumped to the ground. I took back my ropes and walked right past Piiman to help get Chabo loose.

"Should I've done that?" Piiman asked as I cut the hair ball off Chabo's foot with my work knife. I nodded my head.

"Yes. We're just very lucky to have had that break. If the fight had gone on even five minutes longer, I bet that we'd both end up just like Chabo here."

"Will he be okay?"

"He's breathing, so I guess so." How the fuck should I know? Maybe that shameless Witch Doctor should have a look at him.

I was just done cutting the fuzz ball from Chabo's hand when the boy's eyes snapped open. I thought it was a good thing at first, because it looked like he had a pretty serious hit to the head, but before I knew what was happening, I was on my back, staring down a spear shaft. I don't know if it was a reflex or what, but Chabo had thrown me down onto ground and grabbed the spear for his weapon. He hovered there above me for only a few seconds, his eyes intense and his grip on the spear just like harpooners would when they've spotted their kill. It was a completely different man from before.

"_**Chabo! No!**_" Piiman shouted, tackling Chabo so that they fell to the ground next to me. Chabo was broken out of the trance he was in, dropping the spear and his face returning to normal. Have to hand it to Piiman, he can be pretty bold when he needs to.

"Ah... what just happened?" Chabo moaned, holding his forehead. "Did we win?"

"Yeah, we won," I said, standing back up.

"Why does my head hurt?"

"You just got beamed in the head by the enemy and tackled to the ground." Yeah, I really am too old to be playing babysitter to these punks.

"You almost killed Paulie!" Piiman said, his voice filled with the usual Piiman-brand nervousness. "He cut those ball things off you and you nearly put the spear through his head!"

"I... I did...?" Chabo asked, voice trailing. Piiman looked at him like everything was alright, as if that sort of thing had been done before. I knew I was going to have to ask them about it later, because I am not one to just brush something like that off like it was nothing.

"Thanks," Chabo smiled. "Now that we know Kappa-kun and Dr Aisa are going in the right direction, do you think we should help out the others?"

"What about them?" I asked, pointing to the doorway where the soldiers all stood, staring at us. When Piiman and Chabo looked too, the soldiers all ran off.

That settled it. It was time to double-back on our tracks. At least we wouldn't have to fight everyone on our way there.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Chabo's gonna be explained later, so don't start complaining 'bout it quite yet. Okay, yeah, I also know Kuromarimo goes down fairly easily here, but you have to remember that it was a gun versus hair. Besides, I'm rather perturbed at the current Boss Battle length in the manga. I mean, HELL-OOO! Nightmare Luffy and the combo-last-ditch-effort by the entire crew, topped off by a Giant Bazooka mind you... how come that just wasn't enough? Good arc, horrible Boss Battle._


	40. Battle Royale Sort of

I'm thinking after this arc, I might do some character fleshing, just because I sort of feel like certain main players only are coming off as supporting cast. The entire crew here are my forerunners and I don't like it when they look awkward. Yup, I don't like that one bit. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to **_Gryphon_**-san, **_Butterfly_**-san and **_Sakura_**-chan.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Thirty Nine

Rika: _Battle Royale ... Sort of_

The old lady doctor from the hut proved me right. I was sure that Tashigi-chan was on Drum, and the fact that the Wapol guy was searching for the rest of us was proof enough for me to try to take the castle. Once we got there, I had everyone split up. I made sure to take Moda-chan in my group, 'cause I'm no fool. She can cancel Devil's Fruit and if this Wapol is anything like the rumors we heard while on Lembas, I'll need all that our cook can muster. That's why when we split up, I made sure to take her, as well as Ninjin-kun and Tamanegi-kun. I know that the guys can fight pretty well and all I would have to do was guard Moda-chan, so it was all good.

We had a pretty easy time going through the castle. Not many people came at us, but those who did, I just made them attack each other. It was kinda quiet otherwise. I made sure that Moda-chan stuck close to me and Ninjin-kun and Tamanegi-kun were able to handle the rest. Between the two of them, we were able to find our way to the throne room. I don't know how they found it, 'cause I know I'd get lost if I tried.

We burst into the throne room in total bad-ass style by having Ninjin-kun kick in the door. Man, I was pissed off though when we ran in and there wasn't anyone there. Just two old guys standing around by the throne. Ugh.

"Oi!" I shouted. The two guys looked at me. "Do you guys know where Wapol is?"

"Rika!" Tamanegi-kun hissed at me. "Are you dense? Why would they tell us that?"

"Never hurts to ask," I smiled back. I looked back at the guys and saw that they were both walking forward. They both stopped in the middle of the room and the shorter one laughed.

"I am Wapol," he said, grinning kinda creepily. He looked really old, much older than Paulie-ji. I'd give him fifteen more years at the least! Short and stupid and fat and ugly! Well, the other guy there was probably just as old. He looked tall and stupid and ugly too, but he wasn't Wapol.

"Where's Tashigi-chan!?" I asked. Wapol laughed.

"She served her purpose as the bait. What I was really after was you, my dear." Ew. I don't really want to know about that, but I figured he'd spill eventually in a manner kinda similar to storybook villains.

"What do you want with Rika?" Ninjin-kun shouted angrily. Tamanegi-kun sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Didn't you hear Dr. Kureha last night?" he snapped. "I don't know why, but Rizado wants us gone!"

"Kureha told you?" the guy standing next to Wapol asked, looking confused. "That witch is still alive?"

"Obviously," Wapol snorted, picking his nose. "Well, it looks like we'll have some hunting to do after we're done capturing these ruffians."

"You're not going to capture us," I said. "All you're going to do is give us back our nakama!"

"I do believe that is impossible," Wapol said. "For all I know, she's already passed on."

"No... Tashigi-san!" Moda-chan gasped. "Rika-san, you don't think...?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. Wapol snorted and gave me this look that obviously meant he thought I was stupid.

"I stopped allowing her rations almost a week ago," he said. "Besides, she wasn't in the best shape. If she had only told us where you were months ago, then we wouldn't have even needed to take any of the measures we did."

"You what?!?" I screamed. I tried to run forward so that I could deck the old fart, but I felt Ninjin-kun and Tamanegi-kun hold me back. I knew what he meant by "measures". All that did was tick me off something fierce. I'm not stupid. If someone's low enough to call another human being "bait", then there's no limit to what he could have done.

"You're going to spin out of control!" Tamanegi-kun whispered. "Don't overdo it!"

"He just admitted he sent Tashigi-chan to her death... I can never forgive him for that!" I snapped back.

"Let me fight first," Ninjin-kun said. I looked at him, kinda confused. It wasn't like him to speak up, ever.

"Why?" I asked.

"If he was too scared to look for us, he can't be that hard to beat up."

Now I didn't want to admit it, Ninjin-kun had a point there. The tough guys are the ones you have to search for, since they're always on the move themselves. Cowards and weaklings are the ones who hide, just like this Wapol. I relaxed a little and Ninjin-kun let go of my arm.

"Do yo want Moda-chan's help?"

He looked at me and just said, "Not yet." Ninjin-kun started walking over towards Wapol and the other guy, but just when he got to the midway-point, the other guy drew from almost nowhere a bow and arrow.

"Don't take a step further," he said. Ninjin-kun stopped and stared. Bow-and-Arrow Guy took a few steps closer, keeping his weapon on Ninjin-kun. "What do you expect to do without a weapon?"

"I'm a fighter," Ninjin-kun said. "I fight and when I don't fight, I lift heavy things. I don't need a weapon to do what I need to do." Oh yeah... that's a typical answer from the guy.

"That may have worked against worthless foot soldiers, but do you really think it can work when fighting the Minister of all of Drum Empire?"

"Rika-san," I heard suddenly. Moda-chan was whispering in my ear. "Shouldn't you help Ninjin-san? You can use your Devil's Fruit powers..."

"If a fight can be had without the use of powers, then it should be fought without using powers," I replied. "Besides, it would be rude to interfere with Ninjin-kun's battle. He wanted it, so he gets it." To be honest, I was watching Wapol for even the slightest sign of him turning tail and bolting, but he seemed to be pretty comfy watching the battle. It was probably because he was separated from us by the battle. Otherwise, I bet he would've been running off.

"Die!" Bow-and-Arrow Guy yelled, shooting at Ninjin-kun. Of course, Ninjin-kun dodged pretty quickly and began running at Bow-and-Arrow Guy, who went and shot another arrow at him. Ninjin-kun didn't dodge that one as well, because he ended up tripping and falling down flat, an arrow sticking out of his leg.

"Rika-san! Do something!" Moda-chan squeaked. She grabbed onto my arm, but I knew better. I watched as Bow-and-Arrow Guy drew another arrow and made a leap towards Ninjin-kun in order to be at closer range. This was their fight, not mine. Ninjin-kun raised his arms as kind of a blocking instinct as Bow-and-Arrow Guy got so close, I bet they would look each other in the eye. Ninjin-kun screwed up his face, like he was trying to remember something, when Bow-and-Arrow Guy shot him.

Funny thing happened then. The arrow hit Ninjin-kun's arm, yeah, but it didn't leave a mark. He unscrewed his face and I could see that his breathing was a bit heavier, like he really had been straining. It was pretty cool though! I couldn't ever remember Ninjin-kun doing something like that, ever. I thought it was kinda... bad-ass, I guess.

"_Tekkai_..." Tamanegi-kun whispered. Moda-chan and I both looked at him.

"What...?" I asked. Tamanegi-kun just smiled.

"I thought he forgot it," he said, almost ready to burst in happiness. "He still has some of Suika in him... I knew it!" Huh? Okay... this must be some sort of inside-gig that I don't have a chance of understanding because I'm not one of them. All I knew that whatever the heck it was, it wasn't Devil's Fruit, because I know for a fact Ninjin-kun can swim.

I looked back over at Ninjin-kun and saw exactly what I wanted to see. Bow-and-Arrow Guy was so shocked that all Ninjin-kun had to do was jump up and deck the guy to knock him out. Wapol looked just as shocked, maybe even more. It was sweet.

"Chess!" he gasped right before starting to run off. So the other guy's named Chess, eh? What a silly name. Oh well. I raised my hand and stopped Wapol right in his tracks. Turning him around, I laughed as I saw him cringe in terror.

Serves you right, jerk.

* * *

Author's Notes

_I hate Wapol. Always have, always will. Probably the best thing about him, is finding the fanart online mocking him. Oh, and a note: don't be too surprised if there's no update for a while. There might be one more before the new year comes a'rollin', but probably nothing more than that. Man, the one-shot this is based on is almost a year old already. Damn._


	41. What We Do For Nakama

So here's that update I promised. Erm... yeah. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Sakura**_-chan for the last chapter and _**Dixxy**_-san for the reviews she's been leaving en mass for the past five days.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Forty

Kappa: _What We Do For Nakama_

The guard nearly pissed his pants right then and there. I was holding him by the scruff of his uniform shirt, the rest of the little group he belonged to scattered all over the floor unconscious and twitching. My Aisa cricked her neck and walked up besides me.

"So, has he talked yet?"

"Not yet," I replied. The guard looked from me to My Aisa and back, sweating bullets.

"I-I-I'm not g-going to t-tell you anyth-thing..." the guard stuttered.

"Listen," I snarled, bringing the sniveling dick-face closer, just to make a point. "All we want to do is have us a little visit. You don't look like a total dumbass, so if I were you, I'd just tell us where we need to go so that you can crawl out of here with your life." The man thought for a moment and then spilled.

"Go to the highest level in the tower," he said. "Whoever you're looking for should be there."

"Good," My Aisa said as I threw the fucktard guard aside and we began running up the stairs. "Now, do you have any clues for me to help while we find this girl of yours?"

I didn't want to really answer that. To be honest, I was almost wanting to go fight the random, useless soldiers in the rest of the castle with the rest of the crew, but My Captain assigned me to finding _her_, so I had to do it. I would have rather had Ninjin go instead, since he's so stupid a brute he would have listened to My Aisa no problem, but there was no arguing orders at this point.

"About in her early twenties," I said. "She has green hair and dark blue eyes. She's about as tall as I am, probably just a little shorter."

"You don't talk about her like you do the rest of us women," My Aisa commented. We arrived at the top of the steps and she looked at me strangely. "How come you are willing to save her if you obviously don't care for her?"

Fuck, it's that obvious?

"She's nakama," I said. My Aisa looked at me like she was trying to read me, as though she was trying to find a twitch or another sort of sign that could have meant that I had a past with _her_. My Aisa just looked away as she dug through her bag for something, taking out a shell similar to the one she had used to cause all that wind outside the castle's tunnel. That thing made Paulie the Dickhead drop his fucking cigar in the snow!

Just then, I heard the sound of men shouting and coming up the stairs. Sure enough, there was a whole group of the bastards, probably directed by the idiot grunt from before. My Aisa held the shell in her hand and held it out so it was facing the staircase. I could see men running up towards us before long, so I figured that My Aisa was simply going to blow them all down the stairs with that wind again.

"Impact!" she screamed as she slammed down into the forehead of the frontmost soldier. He flew backwards as if he had been hit by a pistol, knocking down some of the men behind him. Of course, the soldier was dead. The rest stared at My Aisa in fear, probably ready to shit their pants. They all turned tail and ran, fucking cowards.

"What was that?" I asked My Aisa as she returned to the landing. She smiled beautifully and chuckled.

"Did you think the only thing I can do is create a large gale of wind? It's difficult to explain, but I've got more surprises than any of you Blue Sea Dwellers can even think about." She walked up to the door and used the shell to blast away the padlock on the heavy door. I saw My Aisa flinch when she did so, but I figured it was nothing since she paused for only a second before barging into the next room.

The prison cells, as expected, were nasty. Every one was packed with people of every age and gender. I couldn't even tell some of the women apart from the men and boys, as they were all thin and filthy. I had been imprisoned once before as a teenager after skipping out on a lunch bill, but overnight in a _clean_ former military facility never prepared me for the foul stench of this place. Over half of the people looked to be near Death's Door, while it smelled as if every single one of them were already there. My Aisa didn't seem phased though. She kept her elegant and tough air as she looked around.

"We are looking for someone," she announced to the mass of people. Everyone was staring at us strangely, probably trying to decide if we were good or bad. "She's a young woman with green hair and..."

"No! You can't have her!" squeaked something. I looked to my right and saw a small child holding onto the bars, glaring at My Aisa. "You're just bad people, like the King!" The brat couldn't have been older than ten, but had the face of a hardened old-timer.

"Oi, you don't even know who we're talking about, you brat," I snapped. "We're looking for a female swordsman who we lost track of a while back."

"Can't you let the Green Lady die in peace?!" the kid hissed back. The kid had spunk, I'll admit, but it was probably too much spunk.

"Believe it or not, but I'm a doctor," My Aisa said, coming closer to the bars and kneeling so that she was at the kid's eye level. "I've never met the woman I'm searching for, but I will promise you that if you tell me where in this prison she is, I will make sure she doesn't die. I can even help you if you want." My Aisa went and motioned towards the kid's arm, which had a long cut going down the side that looked infected. The brat took a step away and started to shake.

"Promise?"

"I'll free all of you, and that's my word."

There was an eerie silence as My Aisa finished talking. It was almost as if the entire block of cells was controlled by this one little kid. Maybe, this kid was the only one with enough energy and will left to make a stand. The kid looked at us and frowned.

"She's in the cell next to this one. Most of the people in there were hurt real bad by the King for one reason or another. I think she's the only one still alive."

"You're right, there is only one living soul in this cell," My Aisa said as she inspected the door to the pen. She took a nearby wooden bench and used it as a lever to lift the door off its hinges. I walked in and immediately saw _her_ lying there, obviously unconscious. She had some cuts on her body and it looked like she hadn't eaten in days... but there was something more to it.

"She was protecting her friends," the kid said. I glanced as the little brat leaned on the bars separating us and stared at her. "Everyone else in this place gave up after about a week, but she didn't! That's why I'm not giving up. I can't even remember how long I have been here and I know she was being asked about where her friends were every day even before I was put here with my aunt."

"Kappa, I need your help," My Aisa said. She was down on her knees, the bag she carried spread open and the instruments everywhere. "I need you to hold her so she's sitting up."

"Yes, Aisa-chan," I replied. My Aisa lifted Tashigi up and shoved her into my arms as soon as I was knelt down. She was heavy and limp. When I caught her, I placed my hands on her back out of reflex. My left hand slid upwards on something slick, almost smacking my face. I looked at my palm and saw that it was red.

"Crikey..." My Aisa gasped. "How is she even alive...?"

I pulled Tashigi closer and looked down at her back. My stomach rushed towards my throat and it was all I could do to not lose my lunch. The skin on her back was close to being shredded, open wounds still leaking blood and pus. On the ground where she had been, the stone was stained brown. I began shaking, trying my best to control myself.

"At first, the King said that she could be the Queen, but she only insulted him," the kid from the cell over said. The kid's voice was clear and sounded further than I knew it was. "Money couldn't even make her talk. Nothing could change her mind. Did _they _send you for her? Were you two sent by the Mugiwara Kaizokudan?"

I couldn't take it anymore. I dropped Tashigi and stumbled over the other former prisoners and found the corner of the room just in time. There was a bucket there and I threw up, missing half of it. I threw up until there was nothing left and I was dry-heaving. My shaking grew worse and I was breathing heavily.

"We are the Mugiwara Kaizokudan," My Aisa told the kid. I could hear her working on Tashigi, but didn't look.

"If you are really the Mugiwara Kaizokudan, you have to take her and leave quickly!" the kid said. "Run before the King gets you too!"

"What would he want with us?" I asked. The kid came over to me, unconcerned with the fact I looked like Hell.

"Something about that bad man Rizado..." the kid said. "I think that the King wants you guys so that he can get on Rizado's good side." So ultimately Rizado was behind this? At least it makes a little more sense now. That fucktard can have almost anyone in the world do anything for him with just the snap of his fingers.

"You're a smart kid," I said. "You don't look old enough to even know Rizado's name."

"My aunt and I came from an island that is like an information crossroads. Everyone there is really smart and our government tries to stop some of the world's fighting so we can be like we were in the old days. My aunt was probably the smartest of everyone on the island. She was sent here as an ambassador and I came along because I had never seen snow before. We were thrown in here without a thought."

"Where's your aunt?" I asked.

"Next to your foot," he said, completely collected. I looked down and saw the dead woman lying there looked just like an older version of the kid. The kid seemed pretty calm about it, like he had already come to terms with the aunt's death. It seems like even the brats these days take trauma better than their elders.

Slowly, I turned my head so that I could see My Aisa and Tashigi again. Tashigi was on her side as My Aisa treated her back. I could see Tashigi's face, still and calm. I looked back at my hand again to see her blood, shining in the flat light that came in from window high above me in the wall.

The kid said she did it for us. Tashigi risked death in order to keep us out of Wapol's sight, even though she had just left without a warning. She still cared about us. How could that be? She didn't act like she cared. It was more like sluttish manipulation if you ask me. I thought she had screwed me over, literally and figuratively, but I obviously only had one side of the story. If she could've cared less about me and the rest of the crew, she would have lead Wapol right to us. There was something more to this... I could tell. I closed my palm and looked back at the kid.

"What's your name?" The kid looked at me for a second before answering.

"Dan."

"Tell me where the keys are kept, Dan," I said, trying to smile.

"What are you doing over there?" My Aisa snapped. "Come and help me out!"

"We have to let the rest of these people out too!" I answered.

"Get your arse over here and I'll take care of the rest," My Aisa ordered. I turned around to face my Aisa and almost immediately had Tashigi's body shoved into my arms. She had bandages wrapped around her body, drawn so tight that her lack of proper food and daylight was clear. My Aisa rushed out of the cell and began using that shell to smash open the cell locks. When they were all open, however, Dan was the only one to walk out.

"Come on everyone! We're free!" Dan shouted at everyone. Hardly anyone else moved.

"Let them die if that's what they wish," My Aisa said. "Come, we have to go. The Captain's in a fight and I'm sure I have to be there before the end."

"...but...!"

"You told me yourself that everyone else gave up," I interrupted. I looked down at Tashigi and frowned. "Only you two never gave in, right?"

"Get a move on you two!" My Aisa yelled. I looked at her and saw that she seemed beyond pissed.

"Yes ma'am!" Dan squeaked. I ran along after him, running down the stairs next to My Aisa.

"So you do care for her," she smirked.

"Nakama," I answered.

Yeah. She's just nakama.

* * *

Author's Notes

_I tried to give Kappa two different stages of emotion here. Hopefully, he came across as first still angry, then shocked/confused. Yeah... there was something else I had wanted to mention, but it's near one-thirty in the morning for me and I forget things easily. You lot know the drill though. Just mention something in the review if clarifying is required._


	42. A Most Unusual Case

Sorry 'bout the wait. I had wanted to make a bit more future progress before posting again. I've been neglecting in general, actually. That, plus becoming horrendously addicted to _Eyeshield 21_, the holidays draining me and my new college semester starting, I am nearly burned out. Hopefully I can relax a little now. I do not own_ One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Gryphon**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Dixxy**_-san and _**Rose**_-chan.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Forty One

Aisa: _A Most Unusual Case_

Blimey, how is she even alive!? I thought that I would have had to treat some malnutrition, maybe a spot of exposure and dehydration, but never what we came across. The girl had lacerations all over her back, something I knew wasn't very fixable right then and there with the equipment I had on my person. All I could really do was apply some salve and wrap up her back with bandages until we got back to the ship. I could only think of one other time I had seen someone this badly flogged and Kamakiri wasn't even standing up for anyone other than himself at the time.

The rest of the prisoners... their voices were so weak it was pathetic. They lacked the pride and determination to outlast the tyrant who imprisoned them. Only the boy Dan showed any potential for living long enough to step three feet beyond the castle walls. He was the only one to accompany Kappa and me as we took the girl Tashigi from the tower. His will was strong, as was the girl's. The rest of them were fucking pointless. I have never been willing to assist those who will not even help themselves.

As we ran through the many corridors of the castle, I noticed that Kappa kept on looking at the girl I had thrown in his arms. Before this episode I had almost guessed his emotions for her to be on the lines of malice and discontent, but now they were bordering infatuation admiration. He clearly wasn't hiding these emotions, but then again, I have yet to tell a soul about my mantra capabilities. Simply by being near them, I could tell that Kappa thought this girl was an incredibly beautiful enigma, whilst Dan just thought of her as being a honorable role-model.

"Hang on," I said, stopping in one of the corridors. Kappa and Dan stopped in order to look at me. I redirected their attention to an ugly-arse portrait on the wall which was obviously of the King. "Haven't we passed this before?"

"Shit, you're right," Kappa cursed. "I think we passed this one twenty minutes ago."

"Are we going around in circles?" Dan asked.

"Obviously," I said. I put my hand up to the stone wall and closed my eyes. Searching for vibration patterns within the rock as I did at the base of the mountain, I could immediately feel the presences of Paulie, Chabo and Piiman. They were coming up fast on our rear, all three of them either spooked, worried or a combination of the lot. They were being followed, but the voices of those right behind them weren't exactly sure of what to think. Curious.

"Oi, we've got company," I said, stepping away from the wall. Sure enough, Paulie, Piiman and Chabo turned the corner and almost ran right over Dan, a trail of what looked like several soldiers behind them.

"Fuck!Why'd you idiots lead the soldiers to us!?" Kappa snapped.

"They won't harm us," Piiman panted. I think he was the most spooked out of the three. "They've been leading us through the castle. It's like a maze in here or something."

"Well, that explains a lot," I muttered.

"...but why would the soldiers of the King lead a bunch of pirates around?" Dan asked. Have to hand it to the runt; he does have a keen eye for perception.Paulie looked at Dan with a cross expression.

"Who's the kid?" he asked.

"Just a brat," Kappa scoffed. Dan kicked him in the shin. I think I'm liking this boy more and more as time passes.

"I am a citizen of Isla de Navi, not some idiot street punk!" Dan retorted. "If you weren't holding the Green Lady, I'd kick your ass you filthy bilge rat!"

"Dr Aisa, can we keep him?" Chabo asked, pointing at Dan as a rather amused smile went across his face. I rolled my eyes and turned towards the soldiers. Might as well just get straight to the point, or we're never going to get anything done at this rate.

"Tell me about this 'Wapol' character who is your king," I demanded. Some of the men shrunk back, taken aback by my presence. A few had their inner voices flare in anger, as I am clearly a stranger. Finally one spoke up.

"He's a horrible man!" he squeaked. That dreadful, eh? "He will eat anyone and anything that gets in his way!"

"Eat...?" I thought out loud. "That makes no sense..."

"Makes perfect sense," Paulie said. "I assume you are familiar with Devil's Fruit, or do witch-doctors not need to worry about such things?"

"Alright, what ruddy fruit seriously gives someone an ability to eat?!" We all eat, dumb-arse. Tch, I'm not a moron.

"_Baku Baku no Mi_," the soldier piped up. "Emperor Wapol can eat anything: weapons, people, furniture... one time, I watched him eat an entire ship."

"Fuck," I cursed. Actually, Paulie and Kappa said it too, but details like that are often trivial. I then at least attempted to think of some sort of counter-method to this madness when I heard Piiman gasp.

"Tashigi!" he half-whispered. It got everyone's attention, as suddenly all eyes were drawn to the girl. Piiman had approached her cautiously, half in awe at seeing his nakama again. Chabo and Paulie were equally enthraled at the sight, but quickly noticed how emaciated and sickly the woman was.

"What happened to her?" Paulie asked. "She looks like hell."

"Thanks for noticing Old Man," Kappa snapped. "She took the beating of a lifetime for us."

"For us...?" Chabo wondered, still staring at the girl. This was getting really old rather quickly.

"Yeah," I scoffed, taking the helm of the conversation. "Apparently, you lot pissed off Rizado fiercely enough to make him want your heads. Now, what better way to find a group of wanted men than capture an inside man? It makes sense you know, trying to beat information out of someone. I only wish I thought of the possibility before coming here."

"So you're saying she's hurt really bad?" Chabo asked.

"Of course," I replied. "We have to get her back to the ship so I can finish treating her or she might die."

"You two moved her without fully treating her first!?" Paulie groaned. "That alone could kill her! Do you really think that we can transport her through that frozen hell safely?"

"You don't have to bring her outside the castle!" interrupted a soldier. He shrank back when I glared at him. Men are so easy to frighten sometimes.

"Come again?"

"I know where the infirmary is," the soldier squeaked. "No one is allowed in it other than Emperor Wapol and the Isshi 20. I can bring you there, because I know no one's in there right now. The Emperor took all the doctors with him to the throne room."

"I guess it'll have to do," I said. I will admit, the only reason I accepted was because when the soldier was talking, the girl's inner voice spiked with an ill tone. If she had not of done that, I would have still pushed to transfer her to the _Sorrow_-go where the rest of my medicine is. "Dan, come with me. Kappa, go with the others and find wherever the captain is fighting that sorry excuse of a monarch. I'll take your nakama."

"No, I'll go with you too," Kappa retorted. He was accompanied by Dan's demands to go fight Wapol.

"Just take them," Paulie said, right as I was about to argue with Kappa. "If the idiot wants to go with you, then let him. I'm not babysitting the kid though."

"Let me come with you! I want to fight!" Dan pleaded. I took him by the scruff of his neck and began dragging him towards the soldier.

"Take us to this 'infirmary' you speak of," I ordered. "If this is any sort of trap, I swear it'll be the last mistake you ever make."

"O-Of course..." the soldier stuttered. He bowed before running towards a different corridor, beckoning for me to follow.

"Make sure the others don't get beat up too much!" Kappa shouted at Paulie, Piiman and Chabo as we ran off.

Before long, I couldn't hear then anymore and was simply blindly following the soldier. He seemed like he was being honest enough, so I didn't let it concern me too much. I was right to do so, for the soldier stopped suddenly before a heavy door and pried it open. Inside was the infirmary, loaded with loads of complicated-looking equipment and medicine. Pity I won't need most of it.

Now it was time to work.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Uh... yeah. I forgot what I was going to rant about this time. Maybe it was Dan's unprecedented popularity amongst readers. Hmm... -thinks- I wonder. Oh well._


	43. Reconnaissance

Alright... I'm gaining momentum here. Hopefully I can keep it up. I'm still just glad everyone's so nice when they're reviewing. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Dixxy**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan and _**Rose**_-chan.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Forty Two

Tamanegi: _Reconnaissance_

One would expect if I just watched one of my best friends shot with an arrow near point-blank that I would be horrified, worried at the least. Instead, I stood there smiling as the arrow lay on the ground next to the unconscious perpetrator. Rika and Moda failed to understand, but I know Ninjin did. He looked down at his fist and was smiling as well, almost on the verge of a fit of laughter.

"I did it Tamanegi!" he exclaimed. "I remembered how!"

"Great job Ninjin!" I laughed.

Years ago, before our lives took the ultimate turn for the worst, Ninjin learned how to fight from his elder sister. Suika had gone to the Grand Line in order to enroll in the military academy on scholarship for both her brain and brawn. She came back to Syrup only three months shy of graduating directly to an officer's rank. When the military collapsed upon itself under the weight of Rizado's global influence, the last command given to the military members was to protect their homelands and teach others to do the same. Suika tried to teach Ninjin, Piiman and me the military's martial art of _Rokushiki_, but only Ninjin had shown any signs of proficiency before Klahadore killed our instructor. Ninjin could at one point use the superhuman kicks of _Rankyaku_, the protective ability of _Tekkai _and the dodging ability of _Kami-e _and was close to achieving the power of the deadly _Shigan_. He had tried to go up against the Miyaoban Brothers after Suika was killed, but with Jango's hypnosis on them, Ninjin's blind rage got the best of him and almost died himself. Both of those freaks nearly slaughtered Ninjin, leaving him on the ground to die as if he were just an animal. Even though he had severe gashes on his chest, arms and back, as well as a severe head injury, none of us were allowed near him for hours until Piiman and I dragged him away after dark.

The three of us hid in the woods for days before Ninjin came back to us. I remember Piiman would not stop crying because we both thought we were going to lose another member of the Usopp Kaizokudan. Lo and behold, when Ninjin woke up he could not preform any of the _Rokushiki _skills again. He could barely talk for a long time even, making him useful to the Kuroneko Kaizokudan only as a dumb field hand. It was difficult at first for Piiman and I to accept that our friend was so substantially impaired that he was barely the person we once knew, yet after a while he began to show signs of the old Ninjin. A laugh here, a joke about the old days there; slowly but surely he began to return to his state of normalcy. Still to this day he is not a hundred percent better, but seeing something like _Tekkai _again after all these years only bolsters my morale.

"Ninjin-san! That was amazing!" Moda cheered. She jumped up and down clapping her hands. Rika was just as thrilled, but she was too busy concentrating on keeping Wapol stationary to act giddy.

"I think you're going to have to teach me to do that one of these days Ninjin-kun," Rika chuckled, walking forward so that she ultimately stood only a few metres from Wapol. She twitched her fingers and suddenly Wapol began jerking around.

"What are you doing to me?!" Wapol yelled. Rika frowned seriously and hurled down towards the ground, slapping her palm on the cold stone floor. Wapol bowed before her on five-point... a move only truly caused by Rika's ability.

"You better explain yourself," Rika said. "Why do you want me so badly that you kidnaped my nakama and left her to die?"

"No wonder Rizado wants your head!" Wapol screamed. "You're such a bothersome woman!"

"Tell me why Rizado is after me!" Wapol chuckled at this; which was definitely not a good sign.

"...because _**you killed Arlong **__**and**__** Morgan! **_By doing so, you gave the people pointless hope. Such a thing is too dangerous for those fools to handle! There will be a surge of uprisings if you are not brought to justice!"

The room became silent instantly. Moda grabbed hold of the back of my sleeve, obviously just trying to hide behind me. I was at a clear enough vantage point to watch my captain's face change from serious to dead frightened. I know that my expression changed as well. If what I was assuming was correct, then Rika had burdens on her shoulders she had not yet informed the rest of us about.

See, where Rika and I both come from in the East Blue, there were at one point five "Bosses" of the seas. They were warlords and terrorists who quickly grasped firm to roughly equal amounts of the East Blue once the military was powerless against them. Ninjin, Piiman and I lived under the rule of Jango the Hypnotist and "Ironfist" Fullbody. Though they were two men, they were one complete Boss. I knew Rika had come from the base city of operations for the Boss Joric Kaan Morgan, a former Marine gone insane with power, though I had never thought she was the one who killed him years ago. She had always appeared to be too jovial and spirited to have done so. I had though, witnessed her kill Arlong the Merman. She had tried to use both a sword and a staff before manipulating her opponent with her Devil's Fruit ability and had Arlong commit "suicide". She had seemed taken aback when it happened, keeping me astray from figuring it out before. I should have known.

"Rika-san! Ninjin-san!" Moda screamed in fright. I took my eyes off our captain just in time to see Chess begin to move freely from his place a few feet away from Ninjin. Within almost an instant, Chess had hit Ninjin on the back of his head, knocking him out cold. Rika quickly raised her other hand and forced Chess to stop running, but in doing so accidently released Wapol for a few moments. He stood up and almost caught Rika before she noticed and returned control to her side of the fight. Right before my eyes, I watched as Rika ended up struggling to hold both men in place. She was clearly too shocked to concentrate properly, forcing her to strain her energy just to simply hold the men stationary.

"Tamanegi, _move, __**now!**_" Rika screamed. I jumped, coming headfirst back to reality. Unfortunately, I have this habit of simply standing there, not doing anyone much good. I snatched a spear from a nearby suit of armor and ran straight towards Wapol. Taking careful aim, I threw the spear at Wapol's head, hoping to finish the fight in one blow.

He _ate_ the spear.

"What the...?!" I gasped. Wapol just smiled at me, his unshaven appearance adding to the frightful thing that was his voice.

"You are a fool," he chuckled. "Try to hit me on my head for a kill and I'll just eat whatever you throw at me... _even you_."

"Then I guess we have no choice," Rika grunted. "Get him, Moda-chan!" I saw Moda look directly at Wapol, terrified out of her mind.

"I... I can't Rika-san!" she replied.

"You gotta do it!" Rika ordered, her arms now shaking. She was obviously finding it difficult to keep mustering the strength to keep control over both Wapol and Chess. I ran over to Moda and tried to talk to her kindly.

"Come on," I said, trying my best to not sound too firm. "Please try harder!"

"Tamanegi-san, I can't do it!" she cried. Tears began streaming down her face. "I can't concentrate like this! I know that it's important, but it's just too much! I'm trying!"

"Please, try harder!"

Suddenly, I heard Rika exclaim in surprise. I turned around to see that she was no longer holding out her arms in an effort to restrain the enemies. In fact, she had fallen to the ground. Wapol was running towards her, his face glinting with madness.

"I don't care what Rizado wants anymore!" he shouted. "I'm going to eat you, whether he likes it or not! Rotten criminals somehow always taste the best!" He opened his mouth wide, enough so that I could tell he still had his Devil's Fruit abilities. Rika was holding out her arms, I know trying to activate her powers. Just splendid; Moda's power negation backfired on us! I braced myself for the worst, while Moda, clearly realizing what was going on, buried her face in my arm.

Without warning, there was a gunshot and Wapol stopped his advance. The bullet ricocheted off the plating on his metallic chin and off to break a window, yet it still was enough to have him stop. We all looked over towards the door and saw Piiman standing there, his knees shaking as he held his pistol tightly with two hands. Right behind him was Paulie and Chabo, both with determined looks upon their faces.

"Starting the party without us?" Paulie asked. He looked at Wapol and Chess and sneered. "You mean these morons are just as old as the last one? Fuckers!"

"Didn't I send Kuromarimo to take care of those three?" Wapol asked Chess.

"I thought so," Chess replied. "It isn't like him to miss a target."

"Oh, you mean that old guy we fought in the dining hall?" Chabo asked, wearing a grin similar to the one I saw him wearing once at Arlong Park. He stepped forward and I noticed that he had a cloak draped around his shoulders and over his coat, something I could not recall him ever having before. The cloak must have meant something to Wapol and Chess, because when Chabo stepped forward they began to panic.

"They couldn't have!" Wapol gasped. "Kuromarimo couldn't...!"

"This doesn't look good Lord Wapol!" Chess panicked. "Weren't we counting on Kuromarimo for a backup?!"

"Shut up you idiot!" Wapol screamed. He pointed across the room at Moda and cackled menacingly. "We'll just take these hooligans out one by one starting with the weakest!"

Late at night in smoky tavern barrooms, I have been told by seasoned veterans of war how frighteningly long a split second can seem when they are the decisive kind. I had a taste of the pivotal moment during the fight against assassins in Water 7, yet it was nothing compared to this. All at once, I saw Wapol charge and Rika stand. Moda and Chess both screamed in two different sorts of horror. Rika's eyes glazed over and her arm quickly extended. Chess drew an arrow taut across his bowstring and fired.

"Lord Wapol! No!" Chess cried as the arrow flew. Before the Emperor could even turn his head, the arrow connected with the mark. The cape draped around his shoulders was pierced and the arrow dove straight into his spinal cord, severing it instantly. Wapol fell over immediately, probably surviving long enough to curse us to Hell.

"I have a message for you to deliver," Rika said as soon as Wapol's body had slumped into a still heap. I glanced over at her to see her staring down Chess, a grave look on her face. It was one of those rare instances in which she showed exactly why she was captain; she was truly frightening.

"You little bitch!" Chess spat. Rika stood unmoved.

"Tell Rizado that he's going to have to send better chumps at us than you," she said. "I am the one who will find Gol D. Roger's treasure and I will become the Pirate King. After that, there's no stopping me."

Chess gulped and ran out of the room in horror. Once he was gone, Rika smiled and sank to her knees. She fell onto her side, fast asleep from straining her ability when Moda was accidentally negating it. Chabo picked her up, while Piiman and I supported the still unconscious Ninjin as we walked out.

We won again, though was it all in vain? We still had to find Tashigi and make sure she remained safe. Well, onwards towards our next task.

* * *

Author's Notes

_A note on "five-point", or the way in which Rika forced Wapol to bow to her. Basically, it is one of the ultimate moves in courteously bowing, where both feet/knees, both hands and the forehead make contact with the ground. To have an emperor such as Wapol bow on five-point is the epitome of embarrassing for the one bowing. Slick, eh?_


	44. May Heroes Never Be Forgotten

I have no idea what to say. That's odd. I can usually come up with about three to five sentences near automatically, but this time, I can't come up with anything more interesting than this little rant about how I can't think of anything. Pity. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Dixxy**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san and _**Rose**_-chan.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Forty Three

Chabo: _May Heroes Never Be Forgotten_

I didn't remember much about when Piiman, Mr Paulie and I fought Kuromarimo. I was knocked out pretty early in the fight, so I didn't see how the fight ended. The earliest thing I can remember after being hit by Kuromarimo was Piiman tackling me to the ground, saying I almost killed Mr Paulie. I knew it was true, because Mr Paulie looked pretty angry and Piiman wouldn't lie about something like that. I took it at face value and before we left, I took Kuromarimo's cloak. It was a unique cloak and one of the most important things I learned from childhood is that intimidation is often the key to any battle. I didn't even want to touch Kuromarimo, but I knew that it would be useful in the end.

Fortunately, I was right. Wapol and Chess freaked out when they saw me. They thought that Kuromarimo couldn't have been defeated, but he was. Wapol then decided he was going to eat Miss Moda, but that scared her so much that her power stopped working right. Tamanegi told me that she had accidently stopped Captain Rika's power, but when Wapol charged at her, her power changed. I think Miss Moda's powers are effected by emotions, because it seems like extreme things like fright or panic control her ability more than she controls it. Anyways, Captain Rika could use her powers again after Miss Moda became scared and used it to make Chess kill Wapol. Chess ran away after that and Captain Rika fell asleep. She was tired from having to fight off Miss Moda's power and keep a hold on Chess and Wapol. I picked her up and we brought her and Ninjin to the infirmary. That was where Dr Aisa was working on Swordslady Tashigi. One of the soldiers brought us there, not only because Ninjin was hurt and Captain Rika needed to rest, but we defeated Wapol and his two right-hand men. We freed Drum Empire.

I was surprised when I went into the infirmary. There were lots of people there staring at Dr Aisa. I don't think it was because she had taken off her coat, because I'll admit she's really pretty when you see her how she's normally dressed, but I think it was more how she was treating this little kid that had been running with her and Kappa-kun. She was using stuff from her bag instead of the medicine that was there. She had just finished as all the rest of us walked in and put Ninjin and Captain Rika both on two of the cots that were there.

"Ruddy hell, can't you people stay uninjured?" Dr Aisa snapped.

"Ninjin is unconscious and the captain is resting," Tamanegi explained. Dr Aisa rolled her eyes and went over to make sure Ninjin didn't have a concussion or something.

"So did you really beat them? Did you really defeat Wapol and his Cabinet?" asked one of the people that I didn't recognize. At that point, I noticed that all the strangers were dressed the same... as doctors. Well, more like the kind of doctors everyone else is used to instead of dressed like Dr Aisa. She doesn't look too much like a doctor. He was looking at Mr Paulie, who grunted and puffed on his cigar.

"Of course," he said. "Two of those assholes are now dead and another has run off." He looked over at Dr Aisa and cringed. "This is a winter island; shouldn't you have at least a shirt on or something?"

"Oh, fuck off," Dr Aisa said, sticking up her middle finger at Mr Paulie. Mr Paulie sure doesn't like the fact Dr Aisa only uses her bikini top as a shirt. He would never criticize Captain Rika, Miss Moda or Swordslady Tashigi, but they always wore more clothes. Mr Paulie has this habit of lecturing women about how they're dressed like sluts when we're in port, which is really weird when Kappa-kun then starts to hit on them. Ninjin and I always have to break it up. At least Dr Aisa stands up to Mr Paulie... I guess.

"So we're free," the doctor-guy said, ignoring Mr Paulie and Dr Aisa's fighting. He and the rest of the doctor-guys whispered happily to each other and ran out of the room to spread the word.

"Will Tashigi be okay?" I asked as soon as the doctor-guys were out of the room. Dr Aisa looked at me and frowned.

"She's been physically tested to her limits. Now it is up to her if she lives or dies."

"...but Tashigi-san can't die!" Miss Moda gasped.

"What happened to her?" Tamanegi asked. Oh, yeah, we didn't tell them yet.

"That Wapol guy had her beaten for information," the little kid said. He was standing next to Tashigi's cot, looking very suspicious of the others. "The Green Lady never told him anything though! She was brave and strong!"

"Who are you?" Tamanegi asked.

"This little brat told us about what happened," Kappa-kun said, glaring at the kid. "According to him, Tashigi-chan was being asked about where we were. I guess Wapol wanted to get onto Rizado's good side and capture us, but was only able to get Tashigi-chan. When she wouldn't tell, he just tried to whip it out of her."

"I don't think Rizado wants all of us," Tamanegi said. "Wapol said it himself... he only wants the captain."

"Only Rika?" Piiman asked. "How do you know?"

"Before you, Paulie and Chabo showed up, he tried to frighten Rika by telling her exactly why Rizado wants her," Tamanegi replied. "Apparently, she killed Boss Morgan too."

"Boss Morgan?!" I gasped. "I heard that it was an entire mob that killed him."

"Obviously, the reports were wrong," Tamanegi sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Dr Aisa asked. "I've never heard of this 'Boss Morgan' bloke before."

"The area many of us came from is the East Blue, where there are warlords ruling the people," I said. "A little while before Captain Rika came to my island, I heard that one of the warlords had been killed in an uprising. The rumor was that he had to have at least ten men take him down, but if Captain Rika really was the one who defeated him, then she has two Bosses under her belt." I looked over at Captain Rika. It was hard to imagine that she was the one who took down two Bosses. It had to have been because of her ability.

"Who was the other one?" Dr Aisa asked. I was about to tell her, but the door slammed wide open, Dr Kureha standing there with a wide grin on her face.

"It was Arlong the Merman," she said with a laugh. "First Morgan, then Arlong and now Wapol. This girl's going to be high on Rizado's hit list before long."

"How'd you get here?!" Mr Paulie gasped, pointing at Dr Kureha.

"Followed you," she laughed. She took a seat on one of the empty cots and gave us all a look-over. "So you lot had the manpower to defeat Wapol, huh?"

"Of course," Tamanegi said. "It is a mystery as to why no one else has tried to do so."

"There was one once, but they obviously failed," Dr Kureha said. "Those fools thought they were going to be able to win. They tried to take Wapol by surprise, but he showed them how much of a mistake that was."

"The two Zoan users?" Mr Paulie asked. "I heard about that all the way in Water 7. A reindeer and a bison, right?"

"Correct," Dr Kureha said. "Dalton used to be the Captain of the Guard and Chopper was a shrimp little reindeer who had amazing talent as a doctor. Together they thought they could free Drum. Did you hear about what happened to them?"

Mr Paulie stood there for a second before talking. "They were eaten in animal form. That was how word spread that we were not to go anywhere near Drum if we valued our lives. It was probably one of the most gruesome stories that was circulating at the time."

"You've got yourself a good memory," Dr Kureha said. "That happened almost twenty years ago."

"You remember too," Mr Paulie said blankly.

"There isn't a damn soul on this island who could forget something like that." Dr Kureha looked at Captain Rika and smiled. "Now, I doubt we're going to forget what you did for us."

"We did it to get our nakama back," Kappa-kun said. Dr Kureha scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You freed us, even if it was on accident. That sort of thing is not likely to be forgotten soon."

"Huh...?" I looked at Captain Rika to see that she was awake. I was glad to see her conscious again. She sat up and smiled as she looked around the room and saw Tashigi lying on a cot.

"We did it," she smiled. Captain Rika stood up quickly, but ended up falling back down on her cot like she was dizzy. She laughed at it, as if it was nothing.

"Tell me, what's your name?" Dr Kureha asked. Captain Rika looked confused.

"Rika..."

"No, tell me your real name."

"That _is _her real name," Piiman said. Captain Rika stood up a bit more slowly and looked at Dr Kureha more seriously.

"Monkey D Rika, the Future Pirate King and Roger's Heir. I am the one who will put an end to the chaos Rizado has created."

"A 'D'... I should have known..." Dr Kureha laughed. She stood up and began to walk towards the door. "You look too young to have been Dragon's daughter."

"I don't have to be, now do I?"

Dr Kureha smiled and walked out the door. I stood there, looking at Captain Rika. I didn't understand that one bit. What I did understand was that Captain Rika was still smiling. It was a nice smile, definitely far from evil. That was good enough for me at the moment.

"That old hag said '_Dragon_', didn't she?" Dr Aisa asked.

"Yup, that's what she said," Mr Paulie said. That name tugged at my mind for some reason. I knew that name, but I wasn't sure why. "I feel very weird standing in this room right now."

"For once I second that," Dr Aisa said. She stood up and stretched, making all the bones in her neck and fingers pop loudly. "Something tells me that in the kitchens, they're cooking us some sort of celebratory feast. Since we need to leave the girl alone to rest for a spell, does anyone care to investigate with me?"

"I'm in!" cheered everyone to some degree. Even Ninjin, who we all thought was out cold, woke up at the sound of possibly getting food. Everyone filed out of the room until it was just me standing there, Swordslady Tashigi sleeping and Captain Rika looking at me.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Why didn't you tell us all those things?" I asked. "Why did someone else have to tell us you killed Boss Morgan? What else have you done without telling us, Captain?"

"Definitely nothing I would do to my nakama," she said. I talked to Tamanegi later on and he said that her answer was "ambiguous in nature", whatever that meant.

"...but..."

"Come on, or Ninjin-kun's gonna eat all the food before we get there," Captain Rika laughed. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards the door. "I'll be sure to talk to all you guys about it when the time's right."

The thing was, hadn't the time always been right? I really like Captain Rika, but that conversation she had with Dr Kureha was really confusing. I mean, I could understand Boss Morgan a little. I don't think Tamanegi, Ninjin and Piiman would've traveled with her if they knew she was a killer. Keeping that secret for so long though, it felt a little funny. Then there was that name. _Dragon_. What did Dr Kureha mean when she mentioned him? In the same talk where Tamanegi called Captain Rika ambiguous, he told me that I shouldn't worry about Dragon if I couldn't remember him. I worried though, because that was the only thing that Captain Rika's smile couldn't make better once it sunk in. What exactly has Captain Rika done?

* * *

Author's Notes

_Don't worry if the chapter felt a little weird. Chabo himself isn't quite sure what to expect or think at the moment. I'm warning you all now that Piiman's next and depending on how things go, he might not be much more help. Gotta love the unsure and more average characters. Good news, I also have almost finished planning the next arc, which will in a sense be character-fleshing filler of everyday life... mostly. I'm sticking important things in there too, but it's mostly bullshit. It will be the Davy Back Fight Arc of this fiction. Seriously, like, nothing happened in the Davy Back Fight except Aokiji at the end. That pissed me off. Oh well, it was still fun. Oh, and guess what I did during math class today? I drew Dan. It's up on my deviantART page and a link should pop up soon on my profile._


	45. Sad Farewells

I have no excuse. I just lost the will... which is pathetic, considering the name of this story. -sighs- Oh well. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Dixxy**_-san (whose PM actually inspired me to finish), _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Rose**_-chan and _**Butterfly**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Forty Four

Piiman: _Sad Farewells_

I didn't really wanna leave Drum after we defeated Wapol. I just wanted to stay and celebrate with everyone. It was much better than Kappa's plan to leave as soon as possible. He wanted to get a favorable wind, but Rika told him that we were staying, which was good, I guess. Everyone on Drum was really nice. Everyone fed us and we had a good time. It was as good of a time that we could have though with Tashigi hurt. Aisa took her to the ship and stayed there most of the time. It made all the rest of us sad, in a way, but the people of Drum were able to cheer us up.

Man, that feast was amazing. Right after Wapol died, the people in the castle threw together a large meal to celebrate. Chabo, Ninjin, Rika and me had a contest to see who could eat the most... Ninjin won. Dr. Kureha was there too, ordering people around and laughing as the baby she had left with a guard ran around terrorizing everyone. The little kid kept on crawling up to Kappa and tried to climb his leg. It's just a really good thing Moda liked taking the baby, because Kappa is definitely not good with kids. Heh, it was pretty funny though.

I had been wondering how the rest of the island would find out that they were free from Wapol, but Dr. Kureha told me to forget about it, since word would get out eventually. She was right. Everyone on the island knew of the king's death by sunset and pretty soon, it seemed like the whole island was celebrating. It made everything look not so cold anymore. The people's faces were kinder and the homes looked warmer. I liked it.

The celebration lasted three days, which was pretty impressive if you ask me. After that, Rika said it was probably time to go. By that time, we had traveled all around the island meeting everyone there. The old lady who yelled at us before apologized, but it was okay. Now we understand why she was so mean. Since we were the people who took out Wapol, everyone gave us a lot of stuff to take along. We even found a family that was willing to take the boy from the prison in until he was old enough to go back to his home island, which was really nice of them.

When we were packing up supplies to take with us on our new adventure, Dr. Kureha came up to the _Sorrow_-go and began talking to Rika. I couldn't hear any of what they were saying, but Aisa said it was nothing that concerns me. I wasn't sure how to take that, since she looked like she was distracted. After that, we left, waving to the people all lined on the shore as we headed off for a new island.

It was pretty quiet at first, once Drum was out of sight. Paulie and I were replacing some rigging that had snapped after leaving port. I could smell Moda's dinner in the kitchen, so I knew that being out in the cold was going to be worth it. Rika, Chabo Ninjin and Tamanegi were clearing all the snow off the deck in the form of snowballs, which really irritated Paulie. Kappa was off sulking in the crow's nest and I assumed Aisa was checking up on Tashigi. Everything seemed pretty normal.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging noise that made me jump. I looked down to see that Aisa had slammed open the door to the hold, dragging Dan behind her. The little guy was wriggling and squirming, trying to get free.

"I thought something felt a bit off!" she said angrily, tossing Dan in front of her so that he landed near Rika. Dan landed hard in the snow but got back up in a flash.

"Like Hell I'm gonna let you take the Green Lady away before she even wakes up!" Dan yelled. "Besides, I want to go back to Isla de Navi and tell everyone what's happened!"

"Brat!" Aisa yelled, kicking snow at Dan. "Oi, Rika–you're the captain. Why don't you talk some sense into him."

"It's too late to turn back," Paulie said. I turned and saw him sitting down on the yard who's rigging we were working on. He spoke in a tone too low for everyone below to hear.

"Why can't we turn back?" I asked. I could hear Rika talking, but Paulie didn't wait for her to finish.

"We've already left port and are being taken by the currents. We don't have the manpower to defy the natural order of the ocean's waves. The captain has no choice but to let the kid tag along until the next island."

"Kappa's not going to like this..." I said.

"I'm not going to like what?" I looked up and saw Kappa leaning over the edge of the crow's nest, a grumpy look on his face.

"That kid came along anyways," Paulie said, pointing at Dan. Kappa glared at Dan, who was getting a scolding from Rika.

"Fuck. Bad enough the kid had to hang around while we were on Drum and cramp our style; now we're stuck with him?"

"That's what it looks like," Paulie chuckled. Kappa grunted and went back to pouting.

"Hey Paulie, Piiman! Are you two done with the rigging yet?" Tamanegi yelled.

"Yeah!" I answered.

"Is Kappa still up there?"

"What the fuck do you want, you prick!"

"Some of the people on Drum gave you local maps, right?"

"Yeah..." I could hear Kappa's voice was full of anger.

"Does one of the maps have Isla de Navi on them?" Rika asked.

"Why the fuck would we want to go there?"

"...because I'm the captain and I say that we're taking Dan home! Now watch your language; we've got a kid here now!"

"Fine, fine," Kappa growled. Paulie was laughing at him as he went down the rigging to the deck. Dan stuck out his tongue at Kappa, who gave him the middle finger in return.

"Seems like we're going to have a fun time," Paulie sighed.

"Yeah, if Kappa and Dan don't kill each other first," I replied.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Despite the fact the first paragraph took me two months, most of this was just written recently. I've been distracted by numerous things lately. I've got college, beta-reading, work and a favorite website's relaunch dancing around, forcing me to neglect. Hopefully, I learn to juggle a bit more._

_Hey, I just noticed this title sucks. Damn. -rolls eyes-_

_Oh... and the next few chapters are silly. Just a warning. Eh, maybe starting chapter after next. Haven't decided yet._


	46. Awakening

Yay! New chapter! Maybe I can keep it up! I can just barely see the light at the end of the long tunnel called Winter Semester, so with any luck, I'll be able to stay focused on my many tasks until the break that is the summer months. I want to get back in to _Illicit Memories _too, but I'm not too sure how well that'll go over. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Dixxy**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan, _**Rose**_-chan and _**Aven**_-san... who I really wish I could reply to.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Forty Five

Tashigi: _Awakening_

The last thing that I could remember clearly was pain. My senses were numb with it, turning my memory into a blurry meld of emotions. Someone can only be lashed for so long before the blood loss becomes too great. After the last session, I had fallen on my back, hiding the shame for my moment of death. The cold stone below me warmed with the touch of my skin and the heat of my blood. Somehow I knew that time had passed and I heard my name. It was faint, but I heard someone calling out to me, voice raspy and full of fear. The blur of a familiar face came, along with a strange one. So long ago... who came to my aid? Was it him?

The last two things I could remember clearly were pain and anger.

Death. I knew I had been lucky as a child. The chances of cheating death twice were slim, even if that man did come for me. He would never know that I had to follow the light this time around. Heh. He finally found me and it was not in time. We do not even have a proper doctor that can save me now. I let myself go and everything became dark and silent.

Warm... why was I warm...? Death is supposed to be cold and cruel, not warm and loving like this. Something was not right. My head swam through nothingness. I opened my eyes and slowly focused in on the wooden planks of the ceiling above me.

"So then, you pulled through, hm?" smirked a voice. I allowed my head to fall to the side and I saw a woman straddling a chair, a bottle of liquor in her hand. The rolled cigarette in her mouth left a pungent stench in the air when she blew out a cloud of smoke.

"Who are you?" I asked. My voice was raw and cracked.

"Try not to speak," she said, happily taking a swig of drink. "You'll still be a bit touchy for a while. Don't start to get stubborn on me now, or I'll have to restrain you by force."

"Who are you?" It was a simple enough question, was it not?

"The name's Aisa, daughter of Shandora. You know, those mates of yours sure are protective of their own. They wouldn't rest until they found you and had me treat you for your injuries."

"Treat me?"

"Yeah. I'm a doctor or healer or whatever-the-fuck you want to call me," she said with a smile. She paused and sighed before speaking again. "I also understand that usually you're more than a shade proud. Being the same way myself, I understand in the fullest. However, you must listen to my instructions for now... else a smidgeon more than your pride will be maimed."

"My sword...?"

"Right here." She pointed to the table where Wado was resting. "Luckily, we were able to find it sitting in the royal chambers after we got a hold of you. I must say, it's a truly beautiful weapon."

"Thank you. It was my mother's."

I watched as Aisa took a long drag on her cigarette and blew the smoke from her nostrils. She had the aura of indifference about her, as if all she ever knew was death and war, despite the fact she was clearly old enough to have had at least a partially peaceful childhood. Everything about her screamed to me the image of a coarse, cold-hearted nature, from the way she held her cigarette to the many tattoos crawling along her dark skin.

Carefully, I tried to sit up. It hurt, of course, yet not as much as I thought it would. I felt the cuts on my back crack and buckle with the new movement.

"Remember what I said," Aisa warned.

"I know, I know... how long was I out for?"

"A couple weeks, from what I can assume." She looked at me and her face fell. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"How did you get that scar?" she muttered, placing down the bottle. "I can and have figured out everything else about you medically that I require, all except that. That large scar running across your back is something I need to know about."

Shit. She saw? My chest tightened and I tried to read her face. No... who else saw? What else could she tell about me? What sort of motive does she have for doing this? _What does she know?_

"Don't worry," she laughed, most likely picking up on my surprise. "I've told no one else anything. Secrets like the ones you've got aren't meant to be told by just anyone."

So she _**did**_ know. Now I was trapped and the only way out was to cooperate.

"About five years now. I was traveling and caught off-guard in a bar brawl. It healed on its own and I sought no medical attention."

"I can assume you already realize the gravity of such a scar for someone like yourself?" Aisa asked. I nodded in reply while she continued. "Actually, I am surprised that your spine is still whole. The scar is a bit more discreet now that it is covered by the forgivable cat marks, but when those heal, I'm not sure if I can guarantee it will stay fully hidden."

"...but it was still there," I said.

I had stayed silent after that, allowing Aisa to talk next. She never seemed like she had anything else to say, so I guessed it was fine.

Just barely, I heard the creak of the door as it opened carefully. I gasped involuntarily and jerked my head in the direction of the door. A young boy was standing there, staring at me with wide eyes. He looked vaguely familiar. His presence sent a chill down my back unexplainably.

After a few moments of simply staring, he ran in happily.

"Green Lady!" he cried, jumping on my bed and hugging me. The hug stung, as my torso and arms were covered in bandages, but it was just a kid. "Oh, Green Lady, I'm so glad that you're alright! I thought you were going to die!"

"I'm sorry," I whispered, "but who are you?"

"My name's Dan," he said. "I was in the cell next to yours in the tower. My Aunt Kora was in your cell too."

This kid was from the tower? He looked too healthy––too well-fed to have been a prisoner of Wapol. Exactly how long ago was I rescued?

"Aunt Kora gave up and died, but you never did," the kid continued. "She never was really a fighter, and that's okay. I saw how you laughed at them and I knew you were special, Green Lady. I don't even know how long they tortured you anymore, but you had smiled and laughed through it all. That was so cool!"

"Dan...?" I began, my lungs still sore from his tackling hug. "Why are you here?"

"Straw-Hat Sis, well she promised to take me home! She made that grouchy loser change course so that we're gonna go to Isla de Navi and I can tell everyone that Wapol is now dead."

Wapol... _dead_? It took me a moment to realize what must have happened and everything began to make sense. The numbness that had come over my brain was dissipating, allowing my brain to focus in a clearer, sharper manner. I remembered this child from before. I knew Taisa must have barged in and fought with Wapol. Knowing her, nothing would have slowed her down except death. I should have anticipated this sort of behavior from the beginning, though I had never thought that they would be able to track me down.

"The little runt's a stowaway," Aisa snarled before a swig of her drink. "We had found somewhere on Drum for him to live where there was other children, but it wasn't good enough, was it?"

"I didn't wanna live with a bunch of sissy girls," Dan said with a pout. Aisa and I both raised an eyebrow. Did this child know who he was talking to?

"We told you to stay there, brat."

"I wanna stay with the Green Lady! Besides, Straw Hat Sis's taking me home. It's okay, you know!"

"My name is not Green Lady," I said. The kid looked at me curiously.

"What is your name?"

"Tashigi."

"Okay then, Tashigi-sis!" Dan smiled. He gave me a thumbs-up to go with his grin. Aisa sighed and took the boy by the collar.

"Come on, it's time to let her get some rest," Aisa grumbled, dragging Dan out of the room.

"...but she's been sleeping for so long!"

"Do I seem like I care?"

"...n..."

I was unable to hear the rest of their conversation, for Aisa shut the door behind her as she entered the hallway. I was left alone in the room. My mind went wild as thoughts raced through it. This was the last place I had wanted to be, complete with the last people I had wanted to face. What would they put me through for deceiving them as I did?

The last things I may have felt before blacking out may have been pain and anger, but the first things I felt after awakening were clearly confusion and, dare I say it, _fear_.

* * *

Author's Notes

_So I had this chapter, as well as the next, sitting in fragments on my computer since late September/early October. It's sad that it took me this long to integrate them into the storyline. -shrugs- At least I was able to do it. I don't feel too satisfied with the ending though. What do you guys think? I mean, I enjoyed the dynamics in this chapter, but the ending is bothering me to no end and I was unable to come up with a solution to fix it. There I go again... typing too much._


	47. Second Chance

Heh, hi. So it's been how long again? Too long, actually. To be totally honest, I forgot I needed to update. Either that or I shoved it off to the side to do "later" and never recalled it after that. I've been writing semi-journalistically over at theotaku (dot) com and having fun with the people over there. It's nothing against you guys, seriously. College has gotten in the way too. Honest! I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Dixxy**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san, _**Sakura**_-chan and _**Rose**_-chan.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Forty Six

Kappa: _Second Chance_

It took a few weeks after we set sail from Drum for anything important to happen. Of course, this doesn't include that little fucking brat Dan suddenly popping up conveniently after we're out on the currents. It's a miracle that My Aisa and I never killed the little runt when he first showed up, especially once he convinced My Captain to go to his home island. We don't have the fucking time to run off in different places anymore! We need to get to Raftel before it's too late... but no one else seems to care. Sure, don't listen to the navigator. He's just the one who makes sure we know where we're going so we don't die of starvation between islands!

My crewmates are goddamn fucking idiots.

One day, I had walked into the galley to see if I could charm My Moda into maybe allowing me a snack before lunch. I opened the door and saw My Aisa directing her as she was fixing an extra lunch. Everyone else's was ready, it seemed, so it baffled me as to why My Moda was preparing another lunch.

..._unless_...

"There you are, you useless ball of testosterone," My Aisa said as she saw me in the corner of her eye.

"What is it my dear?" I asked, walking towards the two women. When I got to the table, however, I tripped and fell on my face. I got back up on my hands and knees and looked to see that fucking brat Dan sitting underneath the table, giggling to his hearts content. I reached out in anger so I could wring his little neck but My Aisa pulled me up onto my feet by my collar, which allowed the little brat to run out the door to freedom. In her other hand, she held a tray, which she shoved into my hands immediately.

"Take this to Tashigi's room," My Aisa said. "Don't tell anyone else. I'm going to say something at the end of lunch and the last thing I need is you fucking up the little cook's lunch and making her cry."

"Y-Yes, ma'am," I stuttered. My Aisa shoved me away and out into the hallway. I walked a few paces down towards Tashigi's room, but was almost knocked down as My Captain rushed by me. She flung open the door to Tashigi's room and ran in.

Standing in the doorway to Tashigi's room with the tray, I watched as My Captain tackled Tashigi happily, just as we all did when that Piiman-fag woke up. The expression on Tashigi's face was one of speechless confusion, something I had never seen on her before. Then again, I found myself smiling just because she was awake. Tashigi looked different from before she left. It made me feel more at ease about her, like we were just acting all that time ago.

"Thank Roger!" My Captain cried. She, of course, was much more expressive in her emotions than Tashigi and it was clear that she was on the verge of tears. "Dan just told me that you were awake! We were all so worried about you! That scared me so much!"

"You were not required to come after me," Tashigi said, her voice weak. It was clear that her strength was not back to normal yet, as "weak" is never a word used to be used to describe any part of her. "Under the weather"; maybe. "Weak"; never.

"Yeah, but we're nakama and nakama stick together, no matter what happens! If you really wanted to do something different, you should have told us so that we wouldn't worry like that."

"Taisa..." Tashigi started, "I set out on a journey that only I can accomplish. It is crucial that I return immediately to my travels."

"Then let us come too," My Captain said. She giggled and grinned widely. "That's what nakama does; we help each other! If we travel with you, you won't be all alone and we can have fun on the way!"

"Pardon me Captain," I interrupted. Both women looked at me as I stood just within the room. "Your lunch is getting cold."

"Oh, shit!" My Captain gasped. She got up off the bed and ran out of the room in a flash. "I'll talk to you later Tashigi-chan! Just hang on while I eat real quick!"

"She still has yet to change," Tashigi sighed as soon as our captain was out of earshot. Carefully, I closed the door just enough for it to be cracked open. I then placed the lunch tray on Tashigi's lap and sat down on the edge of the bed. She picked up the bright green apple and rolled it in her hand.

"I never told them," I said in a voice so low, someone standing in the hallway would have a problem hearing. She took a bite from the apple and looked at me coldly.

"Good. Don't tell anyone. After this is over, we need to have a talk."

"We can talk now."

"No," she said. "I have plans... everything is laid out and set into motion. Rika needs to become Pirate King and we need to fix the world before anything else can happen. If she's so intent on having me around, I'll play along... but as long as I am able to complete my mission first. We will talk about us once it is all over."

Tashigi sighed and leaned up against the headboard. The blanket that had been covering her before had dropped down to her waist before even My Captain came in, revealing that the bandages that covered her arms led over her chest, back and midsection as well. I looked at the cloth wrapped around her and frowned. Carefully, I reached out and touched her upper arm.

"It was only one night..." she said. I could tell she wanted to continue, but I cut her off by using my other hand to touch her cheek, making sure she looked me in the eyes.

"...and one hell of a night it was, but we unfortunately went about it all wrong," I finished. I leaned in closer, closer to those eyes of midnight blue steel. "We can approach it again if you want. This time, we can go slower if that is what it takes..."

"No..." she said, moving her hand from her face. I removed my other hand from her arm and waited for her to continue. "We already went the distance. Trying to approach it differently would only be lies."

Lies. There's been too much of those lately. I have lied about Tashigi and she, I am sure, has done the same about me. There's something in me screaming that I should run away, leave the room completely and never come near her again. It sounds to be reasonable, yet there is still another little something that prevents me from doing so... as if it knows the other part of me is lying. I just want all this lying to stop.

"Then tell me," I said. "Why did you do it? What made you leave us? We've been searching for nearly a year and a half. Piiman almost died. What was so important that you almost killed the little faggot?"

She didn't answer me for a long time. At least it felt like a long time. Tashigi simply sat there, keeping her eyes from finding mine.

"I wanted to find someone important to me," she said, her voice thick with self-loathing. "I have overwhelming evidence that he is on Yuuenchi Isle. That was the reason why I wanted to go there. I'd do anything to see him again and I didn't want to do anything that would put everyone in danger."

To see _**him**_again. She was in love, I see. Lovers do crazy things for each other, so I've heard. Typical, just typical. I finally find a girl that I might actually want to stay with for more than a week and she's in love with someone else. My luck is shit.

"So, you screwed me in order to see your boyfriend again, but it obviously didn't work, since you're now back here and we're pretty damn far from Yuuenchi. Somehow I don't think you're in Fate's favor right now," I said. Tashigi narrowed her eyes and grunted angrily. I think I hit something.

"My uncle, you idiot," she growled. Uh... ew...? "He is the only family I have left and I am not going to let my chance of seeing him again vanish in thin air. He probably thinks I'm dead, since I thought the same for him. He was like a second father, not a boyfriend. Why does everything with you have to involve sex somehow?"

He's not her boyfriend...? _**Score!**_

"It's not my fault you weren't specific enough," I smiled. Her face remained cold and expressionless, yet I was still compelled to attack her in an attempt to coax out of her some reunion-sex. Yeah... there was something about her that had been changed... something that I now knew had not been there before. I liked it, whatever it was.

"So Taisa is not the only one who has not changed," she said. She folded her arms and winced, her cuts still sensitive under the bandages.

"Take it easy," I said with a laugh. "At least once these wounds heal, I think we won't be able to see that scar anymore." She looked at me with alarm.

"You saw that?" she asked, her voice actually sounding slightly afraid. "When? Were you the one who told the doctor?"

"Aisa-chan found the scar on her own when she was treating you," I said, raising my hands in defense. "Moda-chan wasn't helping her at that time, so only she saw that time around. I only saw it on that night after getting out of bed. I've never told anyone about anything between us, all the way down to that."

"Then keep it that way," Tashigi said. She held her arms and looked away angrily. "Swordsmen are not supposed to have scars on their back. It is a symbol of shame and mediocrity. If I am going to become the best of the best, no one must know about that scar."

"Your secret is safe with me," I said. I leaned in and quickly planted a kiss on her forehead before she could argue it. "Pretty girls are allowed to have one or two of those after all. It makes them more sexy and mysterious. Sexy and mysterious women are pretty fucking attractive in my opinion."

"You're a creep."

"I love you too."

"Tashigi-chan! I'm back!" My Captain said happily as she ran into the room, ruining the moment with her ever-perfect timing. She looked at us and frowned comically, most likely due to the fact I was sitting so close to our swordsman.

"That was quick," Tashigi noted.

"Is Kappa-kun bothering you again?" My Captain asked. I stood up and immediately walked towards the door.

"Nope, just trying to catch her up," I lied. Just a little while longer, then it will be alright. "Maybe you should continue where I left off."

"Well, then I'm going to start over, because your version is probably filled with harem-behavior and you kicking ass," My Captain nodded, sitting back down on the bed. I smiled as I closed the door on the way out. Sure, she wanted to wait for a while, but Tashigi wants to talk about _us_ one day. It was probably the most wonderful piece of news I had heard in ages. She may have abandoned us, but it was to protect us. She wasn't a traitor; she just needed to find her uncle. She shouldn't have decided to do it on her own though. I would have helped. We all would've helped.

I dodged the faggot Piiman as he ran excitedly down the hall, followed by the rest of the Syrup Morons and made my way to the crow's next to think.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Umm... yeah. This seems rather silly now. I hope I can get back into this now that it's summer break again._


	48. How Did It Come to This?

Okay, I'm back. I got a new laptop, so now the limitations of my desktop PC have been tossed aside. It's pretty cool and when I was transferring everything over, I saw that I hadn't worked on this story for a while. Well, I haven't touched _Illicit Memories_ either, but that's a different story. I would need to revamp some early story. –sighs- Oh well. Here's another chapter of this though! I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks and apologies go out to_** Dixxy**_-san, _**Butterfly**_-san, _**Rose**_-chan, _**zenfry**_-kun and _**z**_-kun.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Forty Seven

Moda: _How Did It Come to This?_

I was really happy when Tashigi-san woke up. We all had been so worried about her, it was such a relief that she made it through okay. Aisa-sensei had me make Tashigi-san special meals for a while since she was still not totally healthy. That was alright though. Anything to help her get better was fine by me!

About a week after Tashigi-san woke up, she was able to have lunch with us in the galley again. It was there that she apologized to us. She said that it was because she wanted to find an uncle that she had lost long ago and got carried away. I forgive her, because I know how it can be like if your family is gone and you miss them. My parents used to go away for months at a time when I was a kid, so I understand how she feels. Everyone else seemed to forgive her too, because we were all just happy that she was alive. Paulie-san tried to lecture her a couple of times, but he seemed to feel pretty guilty about it.

We all went back to normal soon. Tashigi-san was still in bed under strict order of Aisa-sensei, which was good, I guess. Aisa-sensei seemed to make Tashigi-san afraid, though I don't know why. She would've never listened to Tamanegi-san like that. Other than that little detail, things were good.

I was in the kitchen one morning, baking alone. I knew Piiman-san and Dan-kun wanted some cookies later that day when they took watch together, so I decided to whip a batch up so that they would be fresh. Just as I closed the oven door, Dan-kun came running in, being chased by a very angry Aisa-sensei.

"Come back here you little runt!" she snapped. Dan-kun ran and hid behind me.

"I never touched anything of yours!" he shouted back.

"Moda, move," Aisa-sensei growled.

"Please, don't be angry," I said. Seeing Aisa-sensei angry was never a fun thing. "What did he do?"

"He went into my cabin, that's what," Aisa-sensei hissed. "I specifically made my quarters out-of-bounds and the brat was rummaging through my things!"

"I just wanted to find my glider…!" Dan-kun said, holding up a folded piece of paper that was crumpled on one side. "I was leaving your stuff alone."



"I'll take care of him Aisa-sensei," I said quickly. "He won't cause any more trouble in here."

"He better not," she muttered before stomping out of the kitchen. When I couldn't hear her footsteps in the hall anymore, the paper glider flew through the air.

"She's so mean sometimes," Dan-kun said as he chased after the glider. "She wasn't that mean over on Drum."

"You have to give Aisa-sensei her space," I explained. "If you don't, then she gets really cranky."

"Well, she doesn't have to get all bent out of shape about it," Dan-kun said. "It wasn't like I was spying on her or anything."

"That was spying to her," I said. "Different people treat the same thing differently."

"Oh, okay," he shrugged. Dan took one of the rolls I had sitting on the table and took a big bite out of one. "I get it."

"Are you sure?" I laughed. If I knew children, he was probably just saying that to make me stop scolding him. I know I used that on my parents all the time.

"Yeah," he said, swallowing his roll. "When my aunt and I went over to Drum, we thought we were going as "an international envoy of peace and alliance", 'cause that's what she called it. Wapol thought we were spies."

Oh. He was telling the truth. I looked at Dan-kun and saw that he seemed a little sad. He stared at the half-roll in his hand and sighed.

"Wapol thought Tashigi-sis was stupid and lame, but I thought she was brave and cool. It's kinda funny how he's the dead one now."

"You shouldn't say things like that, Dan-kun!" I shouted without even realizing. I cupped my hands over my mouth once I said it.

"Why not Moda-sis?!" he asked, smashing his roll onto the table. "He was a mean person! He killed my aunt and almost killed Tashigi-sis! Why shouldn't he be dead?!"

"…because people killing other people is bad!" I said. "If all we do is kill people, then we're no better than the people who made this world a bad place! Fighting just leads to more fighting and nothing nice ever comes from it!"

"Then why do you fight?" Dan-kun asked kinda quietly. "You guys fought to get back Tashigi-sis; why is that any different?"

Dan-kun slumped down in a chair and began to sniffle. I walked over to him and knelt down so that I was eye-level with him.



Why do we fight if fighting was what brought us here in the first place? I never thought about it like that. I don't like fighting, but I have to go along whenever we go someplace dangerous. I would much rather go and find Ace-san and find someplace safe. I want to be away from everything, but…

"We fight so we can end the fighting," I said. "I know that everyone who fights thinks that they were the ones who will win in the end, but that is because they don't aim high enough. Rika-san and the others wants to get rid of Monitor Rizado and Crocodile, not fight their own way to being the leaders of the world. We want the world we grew up in back; that is what we fight for."

"What was it like when you were a kid?" Dan-kun asked.

"Well," I said, "my parents were part of the military, so they would leave home for a couple of months at a time. We raised a special kind of miniature cow and I was able to take care of them easily. We had a stone house in the middle of farmland and there were never any mean pirates."

"You never saw pirates as a kid?"

"Ace-san was the first one," I smiled. "I rescued him from the river and he became my friend. I had heard that pirates were scary and mean, but I never figured they were since Ace-san was so nice to me. When my house was burnt down by pirates was when I wanted to return thing to the way they were before."

"So you became a pirate?" Dan-kun seemed kind of confused.

"The kind of pirate I knew Ace-san was," I replied.

"Who's Ace-san?"

"A very good man who saved my life. His brother was the one who inspired Rika-san to be who she is today. We ran across him about two years ago. Ace-san used to be one of the most powerful pirates in the entire world."

"…but then Monitor Rizado came to power…" Dan-kun said. "So if we get rid of Monitor Rizado, then we get rid of the world's problems."

"Not 'we' but Rika-san," I said. "You are going back home and staying there."

"I want to help you guys though!" he protested. "Please, please let me! I'm sure my uncle will let you take me!"

"No. You need to live the childhood we never had," I said. I went over to the oven and pulled out the cookies. Dan-kun's eyes began to light up at the sight of the cookies and the entire conversation was forgotten. Thank goodness.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Yeah, a little lame, but I needed this. Trust me, __**I **__**needed this badly**__._


	49. Mantra Master

I have nothing of relevance to say at this point in time. Bah. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Dixxy**_-san and _**Butterfly**_-san.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Forty Eight

Aisa: _Mantra Master_

It was one of those days where I wish my mantra was a smidgeon more like telepathy. I was in my cabin, minding my own business, when I hear a bunch a thumping and smacking around in the room above me. Meditation is bloody impossible in this goddamn thing.

"Alright, what in the hell is going on up here?" I shouted as I entered the room. It was Ninjin and Dan staring at me like I was disturbing something. Their shirts were off and it looked as if they had been sparring.

"What's wrong Aisa?" Ninjin asked.

"You two are disturbing my work, that's what," I snapped back. Why else would I barge in on you two in an empty room?

"Ninjin-bro's teaching me how to fight!" Dan said, quite happy with himself. I raised my eyebrow.

"Fight?" I asked.

"Yeah, my sister taught me. She was in the military before she died," Ninjin said proudly.

"Ninjin-bro said I need to be able to defend myself if a gang of the bad pirates come up at us, so he's teaching me what his sister taught him."

"Now this I have to see." I sat down up against the wall and crossed my arms. The military was almost gone by the time I was out on my own, so I had figured that it had not been much to talk about… and to have been taught by a woman… the women of these seas are near collectively failures. Very few are actually strong enough to hold their own anywhere.

Dan and Ninjin went to opposite sides of the room and bowed. They went into a ridiculous fighter's stance and waited. Ninjin is easily twice Dan's size, so I had no idea as to what he could have been teaching the boy.

Suddenly, they moved with lightning speed. I blinked and they were in the center of the room, their kicks locked in a stalemate. Ninjin then broke the stance and crossed his arms in front of him. Dan quickly landed kicks all over the man, fifteen from what I could count. Ninjin then went to roundhouse kick the kid, but he fell to the ground unharmed.



"Stop," Ninjin said. Dan hopped up and began bouncing around excitedly.

"Did you see that!? Did you see that!? That was amazing!"

"Sure," I replied. I was stunned, of course, but I was not about to let the kid know that.

"Go see if Moda wants help for lunch," Ninjin told Dan.

"Can we practice again after dinner?"

"Yeah."

"Alright!" Dan ran out of the room excitedly, leaving Ninjin and I alone.

"What was that?" I asked as Ninjin sat down next to me. "I met plenty of military officers who couldn't do that. What sort of military was that sister of yours in?"

"My sister went to the Academy on scholarship," he said, smiling happily. "She was really smart and strong, so the Marines wanted to make her an officer. She came home before graduating and taught me what the military taught her."

"That doesn't make any sense," I mused. I thought about it for a while. If the former military could do things like that, then how come they were overthrown? It was puzzling.

"Not everyone could do it," Ninjin said. "My sister could though. She was going to be put into a Cipher Pol and sent all over the world. She could do more than that though."

"There's more of that fighting style?"

"Yeah. I can dodge, use kicks and tough up so I'm hard as stone. The memories have come back to me a little. I couldn't remember before, but I used the hard one at Drum and I've been trying really hard to remember since. It makes me sad to think about Suika, but I've got to remember her lessons."

"Your sister must have been a great fighter," I said. "You said that there was more to the style than that?"

"Yeah… a finger-gun-thing, a move that makes you walk on air and another that makes you move really fast. I couldn't get those three before she died. I'm glad I can now remember the ones I do know."

"Why did you forget them in the first place?" I asked. I could feel his aura growing melancholy as we talked, so I had figured that he must have forgotten when his sister died to cope. I never like assumptions though, no matter how cruel it may be to resurface the truth. If he needed to come to grips with the past then now was a good time to start.

"Suika died protecting our village after the Marines fell apart," he sighed. "I was really mad, so I tried to attack the guy who had killed her from behind. I had my ass whooped and I couldn't remember much when I woke up. Tamanegi said that they hit my head too much and I might never get my memories all 

back. I want to get them back so I can remember what Suika said about Shigan, Soru and Geppou, but I can only remember the names."

"That explains quite a bit about you, actually," I said. It did, in all actuality. I sat there and concentrated on his mind, trying to locate where the memories might be. They were somewhere, of course, but the injury he had mentioned was substantial enough to hide them.

He did not talk for a while, which was good, I suppose. I was trying to see further into his mind, while I'm sure he was just sitting there. I wasn't paying attention to what he was thinking anyways, so it didn't really matter.

I hit it. My mind suddenly stopped moving throughout his and I knew I found the barrier keeping his memories from him. I chuckled and gave Ninjin a snarky grin.

"Want to get those memories of yours back?" I asked. He looked bewildered.

"You can really do that?" he asked, his voice sounding alarmed.

"I think so," I said. "I have an ability that you don't find on the Blue Seas very often. I've taken it farther than most people have and if I can figure out a way to unblock those memories then I will be the ultimate master of it."

"Why are you being nice?" Ninjin asked. "You're never this nice."

"Make this an exception," I said. I didn't want to tell him, but I want him to remember those lessons from his sister. Those moves he and Dan were using while fighting… they were incredible. If he can recall such battle techniques, he would be nigh unstoppable. If he taught me those techniques… I would be unstoppable period.

"Okay," he said. I took his hands and told him to close his eyes. He did and I touched my forehead to his. He was uncomfortable being so close to a woman, but I didn't let that bother me. I delved deep into his mind once again, immediately coming to the mental block.

When I was a child, there was another person in my village who had mantra abilities. The old man was one of the village elders and had nearly mastered all the techniques that come with the mantra ability. He taught me how to focus on the "voices" of others and how to read feelings by looking into these voices. My power was one based on the mind, so I would be able to invade another's thoughts and memories as my training progressed. Since I stopped suddenly with my training, I only knew that it was possible. Once I had traveled to the Blue Seas, I practiced as often as I could. In fact, it was my invasive mantra abilities that helped me escape servitude once.

My mind beat mercilessly against his. Whoever had struck him on the head had done a fair number on him. It took several minutes of concentration without doing anything.

"What are you doing Aisa?" Ninjin asked. I did not need this.



"Start thinking about home," I told him. "Think about your sister and your friends. Think about your parents. Think about those lessons. Try to remember everything you can about those times."

"Why?"

"If you're beating on one side and I'm beating on the other, we might just crush this wall in your consciousness."

"Okay…" he said. I felt his mind begin to concentrate on simple memories. He was laughing with Tamanegi and Piiman. His sister had long, lavender hair. He looked up to a boy with curly black hair and a long nose. He severely hated a man with circular spectacles…

The block on Ninjin's mind shattered like a pane of glass. He jumped back, releasing my hands and falling down on his rear. He was breathing heavily and his face was beet red.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I think you'll figure it out," I sighed. I swear, men are so stupid sometimes.

"Wait! I remember!" Ninjin gasped. I raised my eyebrow and glanced at him. Wasn't that the point?

He unsteadily stood on his feet. He took a deep breath and then, he wasn't there.

"Boo," Ninjin said from over my shoulder. I spun around and he was standing there, a grin on his face.

"How'd you do that?"

"I'm stronger now than when Suika tried to teach me fighting," he smiled. Ninjin walked up to one of the crates that were sitting lazily in the corner and slammed his fingertips into it. Five clean, neat holes were left when he took his hand out.

"Blimey," I whispered. That sure was something.

"I have to show Tamanegi and Piiman this!" Ninjin shouted as he ran out the door. I followed his voice closely as he ran into Tamanegi and Piiman. Their voices erupted with joy.

I have to admit, I'm not all that bad.

* * *

Author's Notes

_I didn't like the ending, but what can you do? Not much, obviously. That was so totally not filler, I swear. Trust me…! Not filler…_


	50. Dear Chimney

Alright, I've had this chapter ready for way too long now. I think it's about time to post something or other. I do not own _One Piece_. Reviewer thanks go out to _**Dixxy**_-san, _**Badger**_-taisa, _**Butterfly**_-san, _**Rose**_-chan and _**Z**_-kun, the latter's presence being the one to finally kick my rear into gear with his presence.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Forty Nine

_Dear Chimney_

Paulie sat down at the small desk he had in his cabin. He pulled a few sheets of paper and a pen from the inside and put them on top the battered surface. While he thought, he stared at the few photographs that he had nailed to the wall of his family. Thomas was much taller than when he had left. The baby was running around the house, chasing the cat. Chimney still looked the same. Paulie sighed and put the pen to the paper.

_Dear Chimney,_

_It's been a while since I wrote you last. I did get your letter from before, so that you know. I'm glad that at least the postal system is still intact enough to correspond like this. I'd probably go mad without your letters. Those photographs you included are tacked above my desk now. The kids look like they're growing fast. At the rate they're going, Thomas might be as tall as me when I come back. At least he seems to fit into the role of a big brother just fine._

_Well, we finally found Tashigi. It seemed like we had been searching for a decade because everyone was so down about it. Remember all those stories we heard about Drum Kingdom? That's where she had ended up. The king had put her in prison and she almost died, but she's fine now. Aisa, that witch-doctor I told you about, treated her. It'll still take a few more weeks of recovery, but Aisa seems to put enough fear into that girl to make her listen. It's about time she listened to someone if you ask me._

_We also seemed to have picked up this little kid on Drum. According to Kappa and Aisa, he was in the cell next to Tashigi and decided to tag along. We tried to find him a family that would watch him on the island, but he stowed away on the ship before we could realize it. He's only about Thomas's age, but is as hyperactive as Rika. In fact, Rika is demanding that we take the brat home, claiming that it is on the way. You cannot imagine the frustration I feel with all this side-tracking._

_Ninjin, the stupid one, somehow Aisa was able to give him back his memories. Now he can fight like the elite military soldiers could. His sister apparently taught him the stuff and he's been going around putting holes in things all over the place. It's very troublesome when he puts holes in the ship on accident._

_Other than that, everyone here has been fine. They're all the same as ever, now that we have Tashigi back. Kappa was looking pretty depressed before we landed on Drum, but now he's back to his same old annoying self. I can't stand guys like him, but I have to if this ship's going to make it all the way to One Piece. I want Thomas and Kokoro to be able to talk about their father proudly. I know a pirate isn't exactly the best thing for me to be; even the adventurous ones had bad reputations in the old days._

_We seem to be affecting people though, bringing back hope of the former age of pirates where so many of them were of the adventure-type. One place even gave us free supplies, which was sort of odd. As we go farther and farther down the Grand Line, people become more accepting of us. It reminds me of Galley-La and how we never cared whether or not we were serving pirates, merchants or Marines._

_I've enclosed some money that I earned a while ago fixing a few ships while we were waiting for a Log Pose to set. I hope that it helps. There's also some treats for the kids that I found that I think they'd like. Keep Thomas away from girls; he's starting to get to that age. That's the last thing I need when I come home. Stay strong and thank you._

_Love,_

_Paulie_

The letter was mailed at the next port the_ Sorrow_-go stopped at. Dan, curious, was wondering who in the world Paulie could be writing to. When the boy discovered that it was Paulie's wife and a son his own age, he could not but help to ask to include a letter of his own to Thomas. It took much arguing, but Dan won in the long run.

A few days later, a mail bird came pecking at the kitchen window in Chimney's home. She let it in and it dumped a package on the table before flying out. She sighed and shook her head with a smile.

_At least he writes_, she thought.

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**_

A time later, a mail bird came flapping its way miserably up to the_ Sorrow_-go, only to collapse upon the deck. Kappa immediately snatched the newspaper, which was subsequently fought over between Tamanegi and himself. Paulie picked up the small brown-covered package and took it to his cabin. There, he opened it to find two letters and another box. The box had a little clay pot that was brightly painted in what he knew were Thomas's favorite colors. One of the letters was addressed to him in Chimney's handwriting, the other to Dan in Thomas's scrawl. He put the one for Dan aside and opened his.

_Paulie,_

_Thank you for the last letter. Thomas was so happy to see that you wrote again, and that he also has a pen pal. I think he is a little jealous that there is a child his age on the ship, but he is happy that you are helping someone like him. Kokoro wanted a letter too, but I told her she has to be able to read first before she gets letters from anyone. You should see her with books now; she can't put them down._

_There is nothing too much to report on back here. Thomas began school again and his teacher is perplexed over his artistic skills. He made that little mug we sent along for you (and it was all that I could do to not laugh when he brought it home), but he can draw things in such great detail that he is years beyond his classmates. He said he wants to become a shipwright just like you, so he needs to be able to draw things perfectly. He's very good at math and technical drawing, but if you ask him to play an instrument or paint something and he's lost. I already have him building a bookshelf; hopefully it will help keep him interested. He also hopes that he can meet Dan soon. I told him maybe, once everything's better again, he can come for a visit. Thomas is a silly boy._

_He wants to be called "Tom" now. Something about that makes me remember the old days._

_I hope to hear from you again soon._

_Love,_

_Chimney_

Paulie smiled and picked up the letter to Dan. The careful pencil letters made him grin, remembering why he was there on the ship. He found Dan and threw him his letter.

* * *

Author's Notes

_Jeezum crowe Batman! The Third Person! That doesn't correlate with the rest of the story! Sure it does. –grins- I said so. I also laugh at my lame, Rowling-esque child-naming-method. Haha._

_Oh, and by the way, I'm pleading for reviews on three other things that are currently review-less: Friends (Vinland Saga), Take Me to the Pilot (One Piece) and Love Naught Kiss (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann). Even though I don't deserve it, I would highly appreciate it if someone left a review. It would make this college student very happy._


	51. Rocky Landing

**NOTES**: Alright guys, I know it's been a really long time, but here is another chapter. I actually had this finished last year already (yeah, I know), but I ended up being spirited away towards other things, such as KHR (of the non-yaoi sort) and real-life dramatics that totally killed my desire to work on this. Fortunately, thanks to a random PM of randomness, I decided to try to pick it back up and maybe even finish it. I know… le gasp. Nehs finishing a large, multi-chaptered story; the world's gonna end. I'm also sprucing-up things from the past few chapters to fix typos, word order/usage and the like. I'm a whole year older with a whole year of working on my writing behind me.

**REVIEWER THANKS**: Dixxy and Rose, thank you very much. Now, let's do this.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny if the Age**

Chapter Fifty

Rika: _Rocky Landing_

I don't remember how long we were sailing exactly before we came up to Isla de Navi. We landed on the forested side of the island, being as the town was on the other side on top a cliff. Dan was really excited when we got there, since he hadn't seen his home island in well over a year.

"It's gonna be so much fun!" he said as we were anchoring Sorrow-go just outside the shallows. "I have to introduce you to my Uncle Alex! He's really cool! Then I can tell them everything about Drum and that it's a good place again!"

"Hold your horses, Squirt," Paulie-ji said as he yanked on Dan's collar. "We're on the other side of the island; save your energy for later."

"Okay!" Dan smiled. After Paulie-ji let him go, he jumped into the dinghy we were going to use to get to shore. He seemed excited, which I can't blame him. I would be that excited too if I knew the island we were on had my mom. It made me a little sad, but still glad in a way. We were a hike away from bringing Dan safely back to his uncle.

"Something doesn't feel right about this," Aisa-chan said once we got to shore.

"What, are you that attached to Dan?" Kappa-kun snorted. He was looking at Dan with one of his angry faces as he ran around on the beach.

"No, something feels off about this place," Aisa-chan said. "It doesn't feel like the other islands we've been landing on."

"You're superstitious," Piiman-kun laughed. "Let's just head on over to the town. The sooner we get Dan back, the sooner we can relax… right?"

"Right!" Dan chimed in. He and Dan then rushed up the hill we were at the foot of, leaving the rest of us to catch up. I got them easily, so did Aisa-chan and Ninjin-kun, but the others seemed to have a tougher time.

"Stop running so fast you guys!" Chabo-kun shouted. I just laughed and began to run backwards.

"You have to catch me first!"

"Captain, I have to agree with Aisa on this one!" Tamanegi-kun yelled. "This foliage looks like it had some unusual stress within the past few months!" I began to run forward again and looked at Aisa-chan.

"Is that what you sensed?" I asked.

"No, but it might have something to do with it," she said. We came to a stop at the top of the hill and were in a clearing. A bunch of trees were on the other side of the clearing, which Dan immediately headed towards.

"The village's on the other side of the trees there!" he cried excitedly. He began looking around in the tall grass for something as the rest of us walked towards him.

"This ground feels unnaturally unsteady," Tamanegi-kun said. He kicked at the dirt a little and frowned. "This grass seems shorter than the rest as well."

"Much anger rests in this soil," Aisa-chan said.

"Now you can talk to dirt?" Paulie-ji asked?

"Aisa-chan knows what she's doing," I said. "Leave her alone Paulie-ji."

"Look at this Tashigi-sis!" Dan-kun giggled as he ran up to Tashigi-chan. He held up a rusty little sword that wasn't much bigger than a large knife. "I hid this away under that rock there before I left!"

"That's nice," Tashigi-san said, her voice kinda deadpan. She hadn't put too much emotion into anything she said since she apologized to us about running away. I said that I didn't care, but she probably didn't listen. Hey, I'm not going to make her decisions for her, but I certainly don't want her to feel alone either.

"Can we please to the village now? This place is giving me the willies," Moda said as she grabbed the back of my shirt. It always amazed me how easily Moda got scared, so I never really argued with it. We went forward some more. We went into the trees and once we couldn't see the field anymore, Tashigi-chan drew her sword.

"Stand back," she said. Tashigi-chan jumped to the head of the group and began walking carefully.

"What's going on Tashigi-sis?" Dan-kun asked. "Why're you doing that?"

"I've smelled this stench before," she said, looking around quickly.

"Stench? Are you a dog now?" Paulie-ji asked sourly.

"She thinks it's a stench, but it's more of a presence," Aisa-chan said. I didn't know what was up. I felt like everything was normal.

"What are you talking about?" Ninjin-kun asked. "What are you two mean by stench and presence?"

"It reminds me of home," Tashigi-chan snapped. That was kinda funny. Why would she say that this place reminded her of home if she didn't feel like everything was on the level? She confuses me sometimes.

"Well, if you guys are so afraid, then I'm gonna go ahead without you," I said, taking Dan by the hand and walking further into the trees.

"No, we have to go back Taisa," Tashigi-chan argued.

"I'm taking Dan home like I promised."

"Then think of Dan!" she roared. I stopped dead in my tracks.

So that's what they meant.

"Back to the ship," I said, turning around on my heel. Dan-kun tugged at my hand.

"I thought we were going to go see Uncle Alex!" he pouted.

"Not quite yet," I said. "I think we forgot something on the ship…"

"Liar!" Dan-kun shouted. He pulled away from my hand and began running towards his village.

"Idiot…!" Aisa-chan hissed as she bolted off after him. The rest of us started to run too, but we were not quick enough. Dan-kun was standing at the edge of the trees when we finally caught up to him, not believing his eyes.

The village on Isla de Navi lay before us in a smoky pit of ashes. It didn't seem like anyone was still around. This was why Aisa-chan didn't want Dan-kun to come. He was expecting his uncle to be here, but he isn't now. Maybe this was what had happened to Tashigi-chan's village too, if she was able to recognize the feeling.

"Uncle Alex!" Dan-kun shouted as he began to walk through the burned village. "Uncle Alex! Miss Sakaki! Elder Hiru! Lucy! Where is everyone!?"

"This doesn't look good," Chabo-kun said. He touched a doorframe which immediately collapsed. "Whoever did this must've come a while ago."

"The questions is though, who did it?" Tamanegi-kun asked. He scratched his chin, thinking about what we saw.

"Straw Hat-sis!" Dan cried, running up to me. "No one's here! Where is everyone?"

"I don't know," I said.

"Paulie, come with me," Tashigi-chan said. She and Paulie-ji went up into a tall stone tower that seemed like it was in the middle of the village. Kappa-kun quickly followed them.

"I wonder what had happened here," Tamanegi-kun said as he looked at some burn marks in the grass. All the ground was grass, except some burned lines that looked like they came from whatever burned the rest of the village. Paulie-ji, Kappa-kun and Tashigi-chan came down from the tower with sheet-white faces.

"We've got ourselves a problem," Paulie-ji said, holding out a piece of paper. Tamanegi-kun took it and stared.

"Law?" he asked.

"None other," Kappa-kun sighed. "That's why everything's like this."

Huh? Law? That didn't make much sense.

"Law?" I asked. "Like in a law that's supposed to be followed?"

"No, law as in Trafalgar Law, an offshoot-pirate to the fleet of the Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo," Tamanegi-kun said. "He had many pirates loyal to him in the North Blue and when the world went under, his contacts were spread throughout the world. He's one of Boss Jango and Fullbody's biggest traders."

Boss Jango and Fullbody?!

"Then these people are long gone," Ninjin-kun sighed. "They never let anyone get away."

I looked at the paper sitting in Tamanegi-kun's hand. It was of a round, smiling face that had little branches coming from it. A pair of deep purple, furious eyes flashed before me. It was suddenly raining again. I gasped.

"What's wrong Rika-san?" Moda-chan asked, snapping me back to Isla de Navi. "You look pale."

"I was just remembering something, that's all," I said softly. I can't tell them about the man with the wild purple eyes. I just… can't.

"Then let's get looking for something that could help us find them," Tashigi-chan said. "Moda, please watch Dan."

The rest of us split up into groups as we began to search, leaving Moda-chan and Dan sitting in the grassy town square. Chabo-kun went with me as we went into some burnt buildings.

"Kind of spooky how this place turned out, huh?" he asked as we went through some charred papers.

"Yeah," I answered. I was still thinking about that night so long ago, so I must not've sounded like myself.

"What's the matter Captain Rika?" Chabo-kun asked. "You're shaking."

"It's nothing," I said, dumping a desk drawer on the floor. "I'm fine."

"Rika!" Chabo-kun said, grabbing my arm. He looked scared… like I was scaring him. I could feel my eyes filling with tears. Ah, damn. Chabo-kun gave me a hug and I started to cry.

_I could see the tavern where I worked as a teenager. My parents and Luffy-nii were long dead and it was all I had. An unusual customer had walked in, wanting to know where Morgan was. He talked funny and ordered lots of grog. He hid his eyes behind sunglasses, even though it was night and raining._

"_W'en d' yeh t'ink said Morgan's gonna make 'is return Rosie?" he asked, looking up at me as I served him his drinks._

"_I don't know," I said. The man made me nervous, asking for Morgan like he was. Sure there wasn't a soul inside the tavern that didn't hate Morgan and wanted to teach him a lesson, but no one there could have done anything. Soon, it was closing time. The owner was on the other side of town, so it was my job to throw out the stranger._

"_Sir, it's time for you to leave," I said, lightly tapping him on the shoulder. Before I could realize it, my body was thrown to the wall by an invisible force. I went to scream for help, but the man stood up and shoved his hand over my mouth._

"_No use callin' fer anyone, Rosie. T'ey're all tucked up in t'er beds. No one cares 'bout w'a 'appens t' yeh," he whispered, his breath reeking of grog. I wasn't sure if it was the drink talking or not. "So t'en Rosie, 'ow ol' are yeh? Sev'n'een? Eig'een? Yeh know it's not right fer a girlie yer age t' be workin' all 'lone in a place like this. Yeh could get 'urt." He smelled my hair, sending a shiver down my spine._

"_Rika…!" gasped the owner, Diin. He was standing at the doorway, looking shocked._

"_Tis is none've yeh business," the man said. He raised a hand and Diin flew into the wall and was knocked unconscious._

"_Now w'ere were we?" he chuckled. "Tell meh Rosie, ar' yeh scared?"_

_My jaw was let loose, just long enough for me to chomp down on his hand. I bit his pinky finger clean off on accident. He howled in pain and I fell to the ground. I tried to spit out the finger, but it forced itself down; I almost choked because it tasted so nasty._

"'_Ow dare yeh Rosie!" he screamed, kicking me. His sunglasses had come off, his eyes driving into me like nothing I had ever seen before. They were the color of a royal purple and an angry thunderhead at the same time. He kicked me again and again and left in a fury._

_I later learned he was Donquixote Doflamingo and that I could no longer swim.

* * *

_

Author's Notes

I totally made up that accent for Doflamingo. When I read One Piece, that's how it comes out in my brain. Hey, Jewelry Bonney comes out as a hard-ass Southern belle and Duval sounds something like the dude who voiced Jango and Mr. 2 Bon Clay, heavy on the okama. –shrugs- I don't make the voice appear in my head; they just do.

This chapter was also fairly edited from the original that I found on my computer, so bear with me, please.


	52. Oh Captain, My Captain

NOTES: Not much to say, other than I got a stroke of inspiration recently. I gladly give you all the results.

REVIEWER THANKS: Rose-chan and her super-sonic squeals of happiness. You're what keeps this thing going right now, hon. Thanks. All the other readers, new and old, I thank you too. Be sure to let me know how you think I am doing; I'm always open to input and discussion.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fifty One

Chabo: _Oh, Captain, My Captain_

Captain Rika stood there, crying in my arms. I didn't really understand why, but she had seemed pretty distracted before. I went to hug her, since it seems like girls need hugs to feel better sometimes, and she began to cry. It was strange to see Captain Rika cry, but she was shaking and seemed really shook up.

"What's wrong Captain?" I asked after a while. She sniffled and looked up at me with puffy red eyes. She looked like she hated herself.

"I remember Doflamingo…" she said. "I met the ruler of the North Blue once."

"That's okay," I said. "He is a cruel man who makes deals with Fullbody and Jango. There's no helping it…"

"…but you don't understand!" she cried. "I stole something from him!"

"You stole from a Shichibukai?"

"Not on purpose…" Captain Rika was panicking. "All I did was told him the tavern was closed. That's all I wanted to do…"

I held Rika a bit closer and she cried some more. She forced herself to stop crying and wiped her eyes.

"This isn't me," she said. "I'm sorry Chabo-kun, but this isn't like me."

"I know," I said. "Should we get back to looking?"

"Yeah."

We searched the house in silence afterwards. Her eyes got less puffy and her face wasn't red by the time we went out to search another house. The next one we searched was less burnt and therefore took longer to look through. It was awkward not saying anything, but I couldn't bring myself to break the barrier Captain Rika was building. There was a far-off look in her eyes, like she really wasn't paying attention as to what was happening. She didn't even freak out when a spider landed on her shoulder. That was how I knew it wasn't all alright.

We met up with everyone else after about an hour. Nobody was talking and it was all kinda awkward. It was pretty clear that no one had found survivors. Dan curled up in Miss Moda's lap and began crying.

"It looks like everything was pretty much destroyed," Mr Paulie muttered quietly so that Dan couldn't hear. "Other than a couple of charred corpses, there's no sign of anyone being left behind."

"I did find this though," Tamanegi said, holding out a slip of paper. Captain Rika took it from him and began reading it over. She handed the paper to Kappa-kun, who read it aloud.

"'_The remainder of the Old Powers are now in hiding; let the glorious revolution begin. Take the crossroads and the entire World shall be ours.'_ Sounds like Law finally has free reign over his actions and decided that this was going to be his first stop."

"So then there really is nothing left," Piiman said. "The people we found dead were the lucky ones."

"Right," Tamanegi said. "What Dan said about this place being an information hub is most likely true and Trafalgar Law understood that. Without information being fed to it, the rest of the world is isolated and weakened. If there was one thing that the North Blue pirates understood more than anything, it was how to break the will of men."

"…but now what are we going to do with Dan?" Ninjin asked. "We can't just leave him here, but we can't take him with us."

"Can we send him back to Miss Chimney?" I asked. I had remembered a couple times on our way over when Dan decided that he had wanted to write Little Thomas, since they were about the same age.

"No," Mr Paulie said. His voice was stern, but sad at the same time. "I don't want to go back there until I'm sure that no one will be following us. Even if the kid goes back by himself, since we sent him, he'll be associated with us and that is more than enough reason to raze the village."

"I guess we take him with us then," Captain Rika said. "If there's a good place for him to stay on the way, he'll have to wait there, but I don't think there's many places I'd leave him other than with his family or with Chimney and Paulie-ji."

"I'm touched," Mr Paulie said, completely deadpan. Swordslady Tashigi scoffed.

"I don't think we should have a kid with us," she frowned. "He'll be more trouble than he's worth. We should dump him on the next island."

"I've been teaching him how to fight," Ninjin said. "He's pretty good so far.

"A child is still a child, no matter how well they can fight. Any one of us can lift him by the scruff of his neck; what would be stopping his opponent? Children should not be subjected to such a thing as war."

"Well, most of us were and look how we turned out," Ninjin replied. Swordslady Tashigi glared meanly at him with one of the most serious faces I had ever seen her use.

"My point exactly," she said. She turned and walked away. I could see Kappa-kun open his mouth to call her back, but he shut it again. I wouldn't have gone near her either, since she looked more angry than usual.

"This still doesn't change the fact that we have to take him with us," Mr Paulie said. "No matter where we dump him, he's going to be nothing but trouble for being associated with us. Might as well keep him and spare the destruction of a few villages and islands."

"You are being unusually kind," Tamanegi said. "This isn't like you."

"How would you like it if you were the kid?"

"Right…" Tamanegi looked down at the ground and then back over to Captain Rika. "I guess it is your choice in the end."

"We keep him," Captain Rika said. The way she said it made it sound like she was still very sad, but he hid it behind a smile. "Kappa-kun, what's the next island?"

"A little port called Price," he said. "If we stock up on water and some wild animals, fruits and mushrooms and things, we should be able to make the three-day journey. We had been depending on this to be a full break, after all."

"Then that settles it," Captain Rika said. She turned to Miss Moda and Dan. "Come on! We should probably go back to the ship now! We'll leave it to the guys and Aisa-chan to find some food."

Dan looked up at Captain Rika and sniffled. His face was red and his eyes were puffy. He then looked around. "Where's Tashigi-sis?"

"Finding some food to take on our adventure; we still have a long way to go before the next port."

"A-are you going to leave me there?" The kid's voice was wavering, close to breaking out into tears again. Captain Rika bent down to Dan and put her hat on his head, smiling kindly.

"No."

"Really…?"

"Not unless you want us to," Mr Paulie said. He picked Dan up and started to walk back towards the ship. At that moment, he really did look a lot like a dad, probably missing Little Thomas. Captain Rika and Miss Moda followed him while the rest of us… we split up to see if we could find any food.

* * *

Author's Notes

_This chapter was a little bit shorter than Chabo's regular stints, only because I want a bit more emphasis on the next chapter, which is written and shall come out soon._

_Oh, and Law. Heh. Friggin' Estrogen bait._


	53. Fragile

NOTES: This was a pretty hard chapter for me to write, just because trying to convey the specific emotions was a bit… erm… rough.

REVIEWER THANKS: Rose-chan, upbeat and energetic as always. I'd still like to hear from more of you though. It's not difficult to review, being that I have anonymous review enabled. Just leave your thoughts, is all… please?

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fifty-Two

Dan: _Fragile_

Looking back, I remember the day I was officially accepted into the Mugiwara Kaizokudan as one of their own. It was a horrible day, with horrible circumstances, and had a huge impact on the rest of my life. If it were not for Rika and her crew of misfit adventurers, I would have spiraled out of control and turned towards a hate-filled and vengeful path, self-destructing in a fireball of fury. I was only ten at the time, but tragedy knows no age and anger fails to be forgiving.

When we had landed on the island all those years ago, I was ecstatic. Until then, it had been like a big adventure; a fairy tale of sorts. The evil king had imprisoned me and after a daring rescue, the roguish, gallant heroes were escorting me home to spread the good word of the king's downfall. A parental figure was lost in my aunt, as those sorts of stories often dictate, but I had total faith that my home would still exist. I knew in my heart that I could still run into my uncle's outstretched arms and feel the tickle of his moustache as he kissed my cheek. My friends would be there, ready to play, and the village would rejoice at my return.

My world shattered when we arrived at Isla de Navi. Many of the homes were charred timber frames and bloated, decomposing corpses were scattered amongst the debris. An eerie silence permeated the air; not even the animals would wander within the village limits. I have never been, nor will be able to, forget the jarring panic that overcame me. The world felt as if it was going to end right then and there. Moda, always such a warm and compassionate woman, held me as I cried for my island. Rika allowed me to wear her hat, which was something I had never seen anyone else do before then. It fell down loose over my ears and covered my eyes.

The only thing we discovered that day was that the Heart Pirates had been responsible for the attack. I was never told the specifics until I was older, as to keep me from forming a consuming hatred. I heard them say that pirates did it. It made no sense back then since we were pirates, albeit going by the colloquial "kaizoku". It was the very dilemma that plagued me for years afterwards, even after accepting the death of my village. How could we, those who sail in friendship and adventure, be classified with those who purposely murdered, pillaged and wrought havoc so efficiently? It was, to me, the ultimate question.

Paulie eventually had to carry me back to the ship, since my sobs were so great that I could barely stand. It reminded me of when my uncle would bring me up to my bed after a long day of playing; my face buried in his shoulder and my arms wrapped around his neck. He smelled of grease, sweat and wood shavings. The strong, thick arms that were fine-tuned to a father's assuring caress surrounded me, calmed me, and I stopped crying. By the time he had reached the _Fading Sorrow_, I had fallen asleep.

I woke up a few hours later, within the hour before sundown. Moda was sitting in a chair in my room, sleeping while she watched over me. Not wanting to disturb her, I had gone to find the rest of the crew; there was no one on the ship but Moda and me. I stepped off the ship and began to wander the island, careful not to stray too close to my former home. Eventually, I found a field that I had led the crew through earlier that day and I was dumbstruck at the sight before me.

Mounds covered the field, all in neat, proper rows. Piiman was fashioning wooden crosses to stick into the ground while Rika, Chabo and Tamanegi dug pits that Kappa, Paulie and Ninjin placed blackened masses into. I watched them from the underbrush, reluctant to make my presence known. I would thank them another time, but that moment was more dictated by shock and dread.

"You know what they are doing, do you not?" said a voice that made me jump. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Aisa standing behind me. She was covered in liberal splashes of blood that were clearly not her own and what looked like one of the island's large rats was slung across her back. Her intense eyes bore into me, immobilizing my every movement.

"They are burying the dead," I said. I could feel my throat constrict and my eyes blurred with tears. I could not go on, else risk another bout of heaving cries and a twisted stomach. Aisa knelt down to where I sat, crouched between some bushes, and whispered to me.

"I, too, am the last of my village," she said, her voice cold and firm. "Do your crying now so you never have to cry again. Keep on living for them and you will never have the need for tears."

I looked back at the field to see Paulie carrying one of the dark masses just as he had carried me earlier. He placed the body into its grave and as dirt was being filled in, his knees buckled and his hands found his face. Everyone was too far away from me to hear, but I saw that Kappa, of all people, put a hand on the man's shoulder in consolation.

"An elder once told me that as long as people are remembered, they can live on forever," Aisa said. She was next to my ear, whispering in the same flat tone as before. "Laki, Kamakiri, Braham, Wiper, Calgara… their names shall live on as some of the greatest warriors Shandora has ever known—names that I am humbled to have learned."

"I don't know who you're talking about," I sniffled. Aisa snorted.

"It would be the same as if you told me simply the names of your playmates. The memories, the stories, the people, shall live if you let them."

Back in the field, I could see Piiman tapping in the crosses at the heads of the graves. His face was emotionless as he did so, doing his job in silence. By the time I turned to talk to Aisa again, she was gone. There might have never been anyone there if I had not smelled the lingering perfume of her hand-rolled cigarette.

Without a fuss, I went back to the ship and woke up Moda. She was still on the chair in my room. We went into the kitchen and found that Tashigi had brought vegetables, herbs and fungi to accompany the rat that Aisa was dressing. Moda made dinner in silence, while I ran around assisting her like I always did. By the time the others had returned for the meal, their faces were pale and their expressions solemn. A couple smelled like bile. They all ate anyways, if only to be kind.

"Wait," I said as everyone was getting ready to leave the galley. I ran up to Rika and made her bend down so I could put her hat back on her head. She hugged me tightly and told me I was a good kid.

It was from that moment on, I knew I may have lost my village, but I gained myself a family that could never be replaced.

* * *

Author's Notes

_I was really, seriously, debating on whether or not I should include Dan in the rotation, since there is already a huge cast of characters we have conveying their thoughts and emotions to us already (ten, to be precise). There was just something that only Dan could really say though, even if it takes him a while to get around to it._


	54. Traveling

NOTES: College is being college. Meh.

REVIEWER THANKS: Solo Loco Ellingston Rose, who is a dear. I know there's more of you though. ._. Come on guys... review please...? :D?

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fifty-Three

Ninjin: _Traveling_

We buried the people that were left on Isla de Navi as quickly as we could so that we could quickly get to the next island and leave the sadness behind us. We made sure Dan didn't see, because we didn't want him crying again. Paulie ended up crying after he put the body of a little girl in one of the graves. None of us liked it, but it was better than just leaving them there.

Kappa made sure he was able to chart a course as soon as the Log Pose reset and we made good time getting to Price. When we were there, Tashigi found an Eternal Pose to some place called Yuuenchi. She talked with Rika for a long time about going there. She ended up deciding that we would go. Tamanegi and Paulie weren't really happy with it. I didn't care, just as long as we still got closer to our goal.

While we sailed between Price and Yuuenchi, I made sure to train Dan twice as hard. He was one of us for good now and that meant that he needed to watch himself. People knew we were on the move and those people weren't always the nicest.

Aisa liked to join in on training sessions too. At least, I'm sure she liked it since she kept on coming. She's really good in hand-to-hand combat, so I was glad to have her there. I got to show her some of the techniques that I learned from my sister and she got to show Dan and me some of the stuff she learned in her village. It sounded like her village trained their children to be warriors and hunters pretty much since day one. The way she talked to us made it sound like she was teaching us huge secrets that she wasn't supposed to know. She also knew a lot about medicine. Maybe, she wasn't supposed to be a warrior. I don't know and I don't want to ask her. She was not sad or angry or happy, but… I don't know. I never was someone that could tell what girls were thinking.

I could tell that everyone else knew we were going to danger too. Tashigi was practicing almost all the time. Her and Kappa sparred a lot. Moda baked a bit more than usual. Rika, Chabo, Piiman and Tamanegi hid while Paulie stomped around all tense and nervous. I think we all were to be honest.

I can't wait for this to be over.

* * *

Author's Notes

Yay~ I can write Ninjin with a little more flow and fluency~ Yay~


	55. Midnight Hour

NOTES: Man, I had the gist of this thing written ages ago…! Like, over two years ago. Dude… I love having stuff I just need to proofread and tweak.

REVIEWER THANKS: Rose-chan, as always.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fifty-Four

Kappa: _Midnight Hour_

I sat in the crow's nest, taking in the appreciated silence. Ever since we took in the fucking brat for good, things have been hectic. It seems as if My Captain takes pleasure in leading a brigade of pranksters that include the little pipsqueak Dan and the faggot Piiman as they dodged around those of us attempting to be serious. None of the rest of us with even a smidgeon of sanity left could hope to get a quiet minute alone unless taking the night watch. There was something not right about it somehow.

The silence though, was how I figured that I wasn't the only one up. Well past when everyone should have been asleep, yet not quite at the time for the next watch, I heard the door to the hold open and a set of boots walk across the deck planks until right beneath me. I knew the walk well. Everyone on the _Sorrow_-go walks differently––from Paulie's unrefined stomping to Dan's quick run and even My Moda's soft patter––it was a signature trademark. This time, it was Tashigi; I was sure of it.

Well, I was right. Tashigi swung herself over the bucket-like wall of the crow's nest and landed right next to me. Without her sword and her hair in a wreck, she looked as if she hadn't slept–something which was most horrible. I gave her a smile and chuckled.

"We're going to your island, so there's no tricking me this time," I said with a laugh. Tashigi must not have found the humor in it, because she just sat down with her back to the mast and frowned.

"Just cut the crap or I'll leave," she said.

"Then you have my full attention," I replied. She took a deep breath and looked at me.

"I came to apologize. I never should have done what I did."

"Running away or the part right before that?"

"Both. I was so focused on finding my uncle and sensei that I never cared to look at the rest of the crew as something more than a means to continue my search."

"...but why are you apologizing to me separately?" I asked. It was very strange. Tashigi had already apologized to the crew as a group and we accepted, so why was she doing it over? It wasn't like I demanded special treatment from her. The past, I now realize, is just the unchangeable past.

"While I was away, I thought about the future a lot," Tashigi sighed. She stared into the starry sky, her frown still present. "I thought about what it would be like after I finally find Smoker-oji and Saga-sensei and Taisa defeats Rizado. I thought about the things I want to do, the places I want to be..." She stopped there, letting her head against the mast with a -thunk- before turning her head towards me again. "I kept on thinking about you."

"I'm flattered," I smiled. "Besides, I thought we were going to have this talk later."

"Oh, we still need to have a talk later, but this is so that I can go to sleep."

I'm no fool. Well, I'm less a fool than I was a few years ago, but I still understood what she was trying to tell me... at least I thought. It was better to let her do all the talking anyways. If I talked too much at first, she wouldn't feel as if she got anything off her chest at all. Then who knew when she would be next able to sleep, right?

"I don't care how much you deny it, I know that I more than likely made you angry," she continued. "Hurting you like that was completely out of line. Despite that, I can't help but to see you whenever I think about the future."

"Do you want to give it a shot after this is all said and done?" I asked. Tashigi took another deep breath and sighed.

"Yeah," she said, nodding her head lightly. "After the fighting, bringing down Rizado... if they're anything left... we can give it another try."

I know I heard her say those words in complete sincerity, but I still could not help to feel sad by it all. Tashigi's tone was so solemn and serious that it almost sounded more like a death sentence than an offer at a relationship. It was funny, in an ironic sort of way, how she came to bring this up now. I brought up my knees and rested my arms on them, turning my smile towards Tashigi.

"We can live in Alabasta," I said. "I know you're a swordsman, so we can build a dojo for you. I don't remember hearing of any sword dojos in Alabasta before, so I know you'll get students. Your uncle and sensei can live there too. They, of course, can do old-guy things while the rest of the time it will be just you and me."

"I hear that Alabasta's just a large pile of sand," Tashigi said. Ah, an outsider's perspective, huh? She's so lovely, it hurts.

"I was born in that large pile of sand," I laughed. "We can go to this oasis town south of Alubarna, Yuba, where I hear it was amazing before Crocodile stole the water and dried it up. There were trees and flowers, there always was plenty of water and the sun shone almost every day. We Alabastians build our homes on rock so the ground underneath doesn't shift and we've also figured out how to grow food in the sandy dirt. It does get a little hot during the summer, but that's mainly if you're in a caravan crossing the desert dunes."

"You sound like a country boy describing the farm to someone from the city," Tashigi said.

"Well, I was happy there," I replied. I chuckled a little, thinking about Igaram-san, Kohza-san and Vivi-hime. I hadn't really thought about any of them for a while, but thinking brought back old memories. "It was the country I was born in, and for that I love it."

"Then the least I can do is try Yuba," Tashigi said quietly. "I have no room to be picky."

"Yes you do. It will just be you and me..."

"...not just you and me..."

"I told you, the old men can play shogi or something like that while we have all the fun," I laughed. Tashigi remained silent, not even smiling in return. I wasn't quite sure if she got the joke, but she definitely caught something.

"You have every right to lead me along and trick me into thinking you're really going to go through with this. How do I know I can trust you and not get what I gave you in return?" Ugh, all that guilt... it was tearing me up to not scream. Patience Kappa... that's it!

"You trust that your uncle and sensei are out there, don't you?" I asked.

"Yes, but..."

"It's the same thing."

"No it's not."

"Of course it is." I shifted in place so that I was facing Tashigi. "I swore to myself years ago that I would never treat a woman horrible unless she had the true intention of killing me. I doubt you even really wanted to hurt anyone here, but there's no doubt you'd do just about anything to knock down those standing in the way between your family and you. I can assure you Tashigi-chan, I'm nothing but behind you on this." I think my words surprised her, because her eyes grew wide and she quickly looked away from me.

"Y-You don't understand," Tashigi finally answered, her voice wavering. "How much do you really understand about this?"

"Everything," I said. "You'd be surprised if you listened to someone else."

"Hm?" she muttered. I put my back to the mast again and wrapped my arm around her shoulders in preparation for a long explanation.

"Before that bastard Crocodile ruled over Alabasta, we were ruled by an ancient line of monarchs who seemed to be pretty good at keeping the country under control. In school, we were taught that even though there had been rebellions and chaos in the past, there had always been some member of the royal family that solved the problem..."

"...but what does that have to do with what we were talking about?" Tashigi asked. I placed my pointer finger to my lips and smiled.

"I'm getting to that. Anyways, when I was a kid, there was a man named Cobra who was our Sovereign King. Cobra did everything he could for his people that was within his power as a normal human man, but the one thing he couldn't stop was Crocodile and his Devil's Fruit ability over the sand, which effected what little rainfall the rest of the country got. We all thought it was Cobra's doing, being as it only rained in the capital city after that. Crocodile actually staged a revolution which took out King Cobra and his only child Princess Vivi. He altered the moisture in the air with his sand. He framed the true king and his heir for fighting each other recklessly, having them executed along with the Princess's childhood friend, for he was the one who formed the rebellion army."

"Shouldn't the leader of the rebellion have been accepted by Crocodile if he went against the royal family?"

"No, because Crocodile didn't want him in the picture. He made the rebellion by Kohza-san look like a romantic favor for Vivi-hime to get back at her father, both not even giving thought as to how many civilians could have been injured or killed. Crocodile was the only one who didn't care about what happened to the people while they cared immensely. The day I saw Vivi-hime and Kohza-san's beaten corpses shot at until beyond recognition was the day I stopped being just a kid from Nanohana who would shine shoes for pocket money. I knew that I had to take down Crocodile and make him pay for what he did to my country, because everything after that was just like going uphill on a loose and steep dune slope. With Monitor Rizado helping him, that bastard's almost invincible."

"So you want to kick out King Crocodile and rule over Alabasta instead," Tashigi said plainly. I chuckled.

"No, only beat that fucktard until he's dead. I just want to take him down and that all what matters. I know there's a man on another island who by law can take the throne as his own and rule over the country. Him and I are brothers in a way. If I can get Terragram-san to Alabasta, then there's nothing any of Crocodile's men can do."

"I never would have thought you had a brother," Tashigi said.

"Not a blood brother," I replied. "Terragram-san's father was the Captain of the Guard and the one who took me in after the rebellion ended up killing my folks. Terragram-san stayed safely hidden thanks to being a foreign diplomat by the time of the rebellion, but Igaram-san and I traveled wherever we could in order to escape the reach of Crocodile. By Alabastain law, it was Igaram-san first, now Terragram-san, who should rule over Alabasta now that the past rulers have died."

"So that means..."

"...that you're not the only one who lead a vagabond life as a kid," I smiled. "Just like you were hunted with your sensei, Igaram-san and I wandered around the world dodging those who wanted nothing else but our heads."

"I don't think I've ever heard you call a man by a respectful title before," Tashigi said, looking over at me. Somehow, her face had softened from the steel from earlier. She was not smiling, but she wasn't frowning either.

"I only show respect to those who deserve it," I said. Tashigi scoffed.

"If you think so highly of this Igaram-san, then why did you stop traveling with him?" she asked. "Everyone tells me you and Chabo were both found on the same island and not a word has been said about a man named Igaram." I bit my lower lip, not wanting to continue the conversation. I had never even explained Igaram-san to that idiot Chabo, even if he was the one who ended up picking me from the stormy sea that night. This was untested waters, something I had never dared to repeat in the presence of another person before.

"Igaram-san died in a place called Arlong Park," I said. "We had left the Grand Line in search of more peaceful areas in the Blue Seas. Igaram-san remembered that the East Blue had been really quiet crime-wise before the world government and Council of Kings collapsed, so that was where we went. We didn't know how to read the weather properly in a place where islands held no magnetic lock, so we were caught in a storm just off the shore of a small island that used to have many different villages on it before Arlong the Merman and his crew took over. Our boat wrecked and Igaram-san and I were separated. He landed in the Merman's lair and was killed immediately. I ended up on the other side of the island somehow, not too far from where Chabo lived with a grouchy old man who had been once a powerful man on the island. Both their villages had already been demolished and they wouldn't stand to leave me to die alone. It took a few more years for the Captain and her Syrup Morons to show up and we could finally kill Arlong..."

I paused for a moment, holding back the tears I knew would have been humiliating had I gone on any further. Tashigi wanted proof that I was not going to trick her, well there it was. I had given her the ultimate weapon against me: my past. Chabo was the fool to believe me from the start I had just been sailing along before being caught in a series of storms that ended just outside what had once been a village called Cocoyashi, but I knew Tashigi would never buy it. Now she knew it all, nothing barred. With the knowledge of Igaram-san, Kohza-san, Vivi-hime and Terragram-san, she could bring me to tears in front of anyone in a heartbeat. It was a dangerous move, but I believe it worked.

She kissed me. It was a short peck on my cheek, but she still kissed me. It felt at first almost unreal, but when I turned to see that Tashigi was still there, inches away from me, I knew it had been real.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I did it again, only thinking about my problems. I should remember better that everyone here has been affected by Rizado and that your home country was hit quite hard. It was careless..." I quieted her with a kiss of my own, one not too rushed to stop. Tashigi pulled away after a while and curled up into my side, a reminder of how though we were outside the vicinity of a winter island, the weather was simply too erratic to count on warmth.

"My shift's next," she said. I looked her in the eyes and saw that they were almost inviting, something I had not expected. Her smile was still missing, but at least her eyes had changed.

"So we're going to be alone for a while still?"

"Yes."

"Good."

* * *

Author's Notes

_Exploring this relationship between Kappa and Tashigi has been really interesting. I'm also glad I was able to pound out some of Kappa's background like that, since he's certainly not the sort of man to just go spouting it off at anyone._


	56. Yuuenchi Isle

NOTES: Finally, we get to the damn place. Hold on to your horses kids; it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

REVIEWER THANKS: Solo Loco Ellingston Rose, thanks a ton! For everyone else, shame on you for not reviewing. =/ It's not rocket science or anything.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fifty-Five

Tamanegi: _Yuuenchi Isle_

Yuuenchi Isle turned out to be a stark, desolate rock in the middle of extremely stormy waters. Between Kappa, Paulie and myself, we figured that any attempt to land would need to be done immediately before our attack, else risk wrecking the ship. There was a nearby outcropping of rocks we were able to hide behind and moor the _Fading Sorrow_ there as we prepared for the inevitable.

"The inside is going to be heavily fortified and have enough supplies to last a siege for months, so we are going to need to attack swiftly and forcefully," Tashigi said. We were gathered in the galley, going over our war plans and preparing various weapons whilst discussing procedures. Our weapons had become quite worn with use, so worn that I feared how long they would last. My staff was far from being structurally sound and Kappa was down about half a dozen of the knives he usually carried.

Tashigi cleared her throat and continued. "There won't be any solders to turn like there were in Drum. You guys were incredibly lucky that time."

"Yeah, rub it in why don't you? It's not like you did much better," Paulie scoffed. He had his jacket thrown out on the table as he coiled rope to place within the different little pockets he had placed all over the inside lining. The strategic placement of these coils was going to become invaluable in battle.

"I didn't see you taking them single-handedly," Tashigi snapped.

"Stop it," I said before Paulie had the chance to retort. The two of them had been so hostile towards one another that it was becoming highly detrimental to morale. "Just continue, Tashigi."

"We are going to need to be on constant guard once we land," she elaborated. "In most circumstances, I would want Moda and Dan to stay behind on the ship as non-combatants, but this is going to be more dangerous than anything we've ever come across before and I do not want them being ambushed while the rest of us are away. They could be killed without a second thought."

"Then can't one of the rest of us stay behind with them?" Piiman asked. I could tell by his face that he was beginning to second-guess this entire operation. If only Captain Usopp could see him.

"No, Tashigi said. "We are going to need all the manpower we can muster in one group. Moda and Taisa are going to stick together, so that Taisa can use her ability on great masses of people at once. Aisa, how's Dan's combat skills coming along?"

"They're good," Ninjin replied, sounding slightly miffed that he was not the one asked despite having trained Dan for longer.

"I have no qualms," Aisa added. "I can vouch for the lad. With the right weapons and situation, he could take on nearly a score men on his own. All I'm curious about is how come you're playing General while our Captain's right here."

"Tashigi-chan at least has a plan, which is a lot more than I have," Rika smiled. From all the years I have known her, it was true that she marched into whatever battle was ahead of her with little more of a plan than how forcefully she would beat down the front door.

"I also know more than you would think about strategic operations," Tashigi elaborated. "My uncle, the one we are trying to find, taught me everything he knows and he was formerly a military Captain in line for promotion."

"Then he didn't teach you everything," Ninjin smirked. Tashigi glared in return.

"He didn't deem it necessary to teach me grunt work."

That set Ninjin over the edge. He lunged over the table at the woman, ready to punch her until his knuckles bled. Kappa and Chabo caught either side of him and Aisa blocked from the front.

"My sister was an Academy student! She was going to have become an officer just like your uncle was if this shit hadn't happened!" Tashigi did not seem to be fazed by the outburst and stood there with a stone-cold expression.

"As a Logia, he felt little need to remember such things for himself. He and my father, a master swordsman, made sure to fill that gap in my education at least twice over."

"If he was a Logia, then why do we even need to find him?"

"Even Devil's Fruit has weakness."

Ninjin relaxed and those restraining him released their grip. He stared angrily at Tashigi and picked up the tape for his wrists in order to begin wrapping up his hands.

We went over the rest of the plan and waited until sunset to make our move. Using two of the dinghies, we rowed up to the craggy coast that would have wrecked the _Fading Sorrow_ in a heartbeat. Landing in one piece proved to be the easy part.

Once on land, we crept along the rocky coast until we came to the harbor on the other side of the island. There was a fortress carved into the natural rock; the perfect lair. Ships were docked in the safety of the harbor. It was beginning to rain as we made our way down towards the entrance, which seemed like it was going to work in our favor.

"Wind Dial," Piiman said, his voice wavering with uncertainty as he stared at the device Aisa had handed him. A massive wind came from the shell strapped to his hand, sending the guards that were standing at the front gate indoors. We crept up to the front and made sure that there was no one watching the large, heavy wooden doors. It was a difficult task to not be caught by one of the guards overhead, as there were many of them. I wondered what sort of an organization we were defying in order to free Tashigi's uncle and teacher.

I was uneasy about this part, but Dan went up to the doors and began to pound on them, crying to be let in. He was a disheveled mess, as he had slipped and fell while on the way and ended up covered in seaweed and mud that slowly melted off in the rain. The wind coming from that little shell of Aisa's was enough to make him look wind-whipped and destitute—almost like a shipwreck survivor. Most of us had been against the move, but Dan had volunteered himself and demanded his part be played.

"What's that?" I heard. The soldiers just on the other side of the large doors we discussing Dan.

"It looks like a kid."

"Where did he come from?"

"Please! Let me in!"

"Hey, where'd you come from?"

"Please! It's storming worse!"

"Just let the kid in; we can tell the Boss later."

"It looks suspicious to me. How'd he get out here?"

"Please!"

"Who knows? Definitely not from in here, that's for sure. Besides, how much harm can one little kid do?"

"Alright… hang on, kid!"

Dan kept on beating his hands on the door until they creaked open. I saw a trio of soldiers from my vantage point; one appeared quite incredulous as the other two bent down towards Dan.

"IMPACT!" Dan screamed at the top of his lungs. All the time he was pounding on the doors, he had been storing force within two of the little shells that Aisa had equipped him with. While I have yet to figure out the physics and mechanics behind it all, it was the basic property of these "dial" shells to store things such as information, air power, kinetic force and even flames. It was awe-inspiring to watch the two soldiers fly backwards, arching in the air, whilst Dan did not even so much as move a muscle. It was the perfect weapon for someone so small and disadvantaged physically.

"You little brat!" the third soldier yelled. He thrust the butt of his rifle towards Dan, who gasped and caught the blow on one of the shells. The child redirected the force towards the soldier's groin area, effectively making the rest of us men wince and the path free of resistance.

"Move!" Tashigi ordered. We all rushed into the fortress, which has thinly guarded in the vestibule. Once inside, however, we ran right into the middle of what appeared to be a training exercise. The commanding officer took one look at us and snarled.

"There are no customers scheduled for today! Seize them!"

The soldiers jumped towards their weapons and barreled towards us. Moda screamed in horror, hiding behind Rika. The poor woman's Devil Fruit ability was in full-swing as a large number of the soldiers froze in their place, while one towards the back ricocheted into the form of an overly-large rabbit.

Confusion struck afterwards. Those of us with weapons rushed out into the fray, ready to fight for our lives. All around me, the sounds of battle could be heard. Kappa flung curse words everywhere. Piiman kept on yelping every time he hit someone or dodged an attack, while Ninjin's shouting was a full-blown war cry. Paulie and Aisa kept on arguing with one another and Dan's shrill screech was enough to drive anyone mad. It continued on for a few seconds and a lifetime simultaneously, until we were surrounded by the enemy. Weapons had been, broken, sliced and rendered useless. The commanding officer, flustered and breathing heavily, pointed his sabre at us.

"To the Boss with this scum."

* * *

Author's Notes

_Oh snap! Looks like they're in quite a pickle, aren't they? Yeah… I really had nothing to say down here. :D Just please, please, please review…? I know you're out there… o_o_


	57. An East Blue Boss

NOTES: Enter the Big Bad of the arc! I'll give you guys a hint right now: it's a character we have definitely heard from before. Now that I have wracked your brains, I lead you to…

…the REVIEWER THANKS: Rose-chan, who is one of the bestest stalkers in the world. Come on people! Review! Please! D:

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fifty-Six

Paulie: _An East Blue Boss_

They bound our hands with seastone cuffs and handled us more like fucking livestock than like human beings once we surrendered. It was clear that we were not going to be able to win this right from the start; we knew that before we even exited the ship. The master plan was that we were going to cause enough of a ruckus to get thrown before whoever it was that ran the place and then, once we were in process of going to the prison cells, break free and make a run for it. It was a stupid plan, but we couldn't come up with anything better. My wrists stung from the seastone, right where I had some rope burns from the fight. It was demeaning.

We were placed in a holding room that seemed to be tailor-made for the purpose of prolonged waiting. There were several soldiers stood at the door and in front of us, making us stand in place silently. I didn't like the way they looked at us when we were waiting for their Boss to get there. The fact we had a child or women with us didn't concern them. Moda's clinging to Rika was laughable. It all seemed to be just another day to them, which was what really put me off.

Two men walked in the door and I heard Tamanegi next to me cuss. That was the next sign it was all going to shit. The men appeared to be brothers, almost, dressed in similar gaudy style and walking with almost a musical rhythm. Ninjin took a step forward, but was stopped by one of the soldiers. He seemed more angry than I've ever seen him, even when Tashigi had stupidly insulted his sister while back on the ship. The other East Blue kids were tense, sending signals that this was not going to end well.

"Oh, well look what we have here," the one with the heart-shaped sunglasses laughed. "I never do forget faces. Names, yes, but I recognize three of them, don't you Fullbody?"

"Vaguely," the one with metal grafted to his fist said with a shrug. "My memory's not as good as yours. East Blue, at least?"

"Syrup Village, to be precise; the ginger, the one with the glasses and the one that could pass for a girl if he was in a dress were once our property."

"Well, that's good to know. Welcome back, boys! Glad you brought company!" Piiman squeaked and tried to duck behind Chabo.

"Fuck off, bastards," Tamanegi spat. We all sort of looked at him and stared, because it was so unusual for him. They were pretty harsh words for someone who normally takes five minutes to explain something that can be summed up in ten words or less.

"Someone's got a temper…" the one with the sunglasses sang. He glanced over the rest of us and frowned. "I guess I have to introduce myself. My name is Jango and this is my associate, Fullbody. We are now your owners, so do behave."

Fuck! That's Jango and Fullbody? Fuck, fuck, fuck! Tashigi sure did pick the perfect guys for us to piss off! It was going to be lucky if any of us made it out of this in one piece. It's just our luck we got captured by slave traders.

"You'd have a temper too, you know," Fullbody said. He pulled a small pad of paper and a pencil out of his jacket pocket and began to stare at us, taking notes as he went along. The cocky bastard stopped at Dan and laughed. "So, now I know how you guys got in through the front door. Where'd they kidnap you from, bucko?"

"Leave him alone," Aisa snarled. "Can't a lot have a ward in this age where family is a luxury?" Dan crept behind her. I hadn't wanted him to come, but the brat insisted. The scared look on his face made me want to hurt something or someone.

"I suppose it's not terribly uncommon," Fullbody said. He grinned as he looked at Aisa. "Aren't you an exotic one? Nice figure, beautiful skin, superb height and those tattoos are exquisite. I bet you're going to earn a pretty penny in Sabaondy."

Aisa spat in Fullbody's face, which caused him to smack her. She moved forward to attack, but one of the soldiers smashed his rifle into her nose.

"Hey, hey, hey… watch the goods…" Jango said, bringing the soldier back to his original position. Before the man could even get his bearings, Jango had pulled out a gun and let out a round in the side of his head. "Money is money, after all."

"Holy shit, you're sick," I said without even thinking about it.

"Tell me," Fullbody smiled menacingly, "do you know how we five were able to call ourselves the 'Five East Blue Bosses' after such a short duration of being in charge?"

"...because you're 'Heartless', like the rest of the title suggests," Tamanegi answered, staring at Jango and the corpse. "You killed near everyone we loved and held dear."

"There was a reason for that," Jango smirked. "See, we were the ones with the power. Quickly, we had to get rid of anyone that possibly could have become powerful enough to oppose us until finally, there was just the five of us. Oppressed children are not strong; only whiny and a minor nuisance until their spirits have been broken."

"Then I assume these two blokes are part of the reason why we're here," Aisa said as she readjusted her nose. Her voice was sharp. I could tell that she was ready to slit some throats if she had the chance.

"They are two men, but a single Boss," Rika replied, not even breaking her glare. "There are others out there. We killed Arlong the Merman, but from what I know, the rest are possibly alive."

"Yes," Fullbody agreed. "You did cause a ruckus those years ago when you killed off ol' Shark-bait, but I do believe Krieg took over his waters quickly. He and that clown bastard are fighting for it right now..."

"Clown? What kind of nut-jobs do you Blue Sea dwellers deal with?" Aisa remarked. She was thoroughly irritated with the whole thing.

"Buggy the Clown," Jango said casually. "Never met him, but he and his wench Alvida have the whole northern sector of the East Blue's Waters to themselves. The man has some skills leftover from sailing with the Pirate King, obviously. He wanted Arlong's waters closer to the Grand Line, so he was pissed when Don Krieg's fleet moved in. We're just vagabonds, doing business as we please and making sure the tribute to whatever other Boss we bother is paid in full."

"You forgot one," Rika sneered. She was visibly weaker from the seastone cuffs with her heavy breaking "You forgot the worst of them..."

"Rika... the worst Boss is standing right there," Piiman said. He edged out from behind Chabo to put a hand on her shoulder, but she snapped her vision back up to the Boss.

"Joric Kaan Morgan was supposed to protect us!" she yelled, making Piiman jump back in surprise. "All that... _thing_ did was terrorize the town and the surrounding islands! He killed people for standing up for the rights he was placed there to enforce! He was a high-ranking military officer that only used his power for his own gain! I was forced to watch my parents, my friends, my neighbors, my heroes, his son even...! All of them went to the chopping block because he was twisted and fucked-up in the worst ways possible! Morgan is a monster!"

"You really should have kept using the term 'was', my dear," Fullbody replied. "He died a while back from injuries received during a rebellion. He had been rendered unconscious and died a year later. Supposedly, his subordinates gave the description of 'straw hat' to the rebellion leader. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Rika gave no answer, only an angered expression. There are always time where I wonder why in the hell I'm traveling with this group of punks, but that stare was one of the times I remembered exactly why.

"I think she knows," Jango said in a merry voice. He walked to stand next to Fullbody. "I'm afraid some of these won't fetch too much, especially the old one."

"I will not be sold again," Aisa spat. Jango ran his eyes up and down Aisa and grinned.

"Looks alone give you half a mil at the least in auction, so I wouldn't be too upset if I were you. Women and the pretty ones almost always go fairly well and to more civilized owners than the back-breakers that take men only. It'll be those men in there I'll have trouble selling off. Any call over in Lafitte's territory for hard laborers?"

"No," Fullbody replied in a bored voice. He was still writing on the notepad and looking the rest of us over. "After the last shipment, he nearly had us murdered for sending such headstrong group. This wouldn't be much of an apology. You do remember we have to keep the Straw Hat?"

"I remember," Jango retorted. "I don't know why we have to listen to Rizado and Crocodile anyways. We can sell this one. Clean her, put her in a dress, get rid of that _ridiculous_ hat and I can probably sell her in the World Noble's court with the exotic one." Aisa hissed at his comment, which only made the man frown more seriously.

"They are the Bosses of Everything," Fullbody explained, resting an elbow on Jango's shoulder in a brotherly manner while he went over the notepad. "We get in their favor, we can expand our business to all four Blues. Think about it. You won't have to worry about keeping up with paying your former captain's allowance at the threat of his wrath and we will be at access to all the riches of the world, of both currency and the flesh."

"Fine, then let's think of this as an operating expense," Jango said, brushing off Fullbody in an annoyed huff. He turned to a nearby guard, who saluted. "Stick them in some cells on level four, but I want the child in level six. Keep them bound by seastone; I do not want them getting out. One of these days we can feed the two available girls and the pretty boy to the grunts, 'cause you can imagine how starved those sick fucks are. They're not allowed the kid though; those have to go to market unspoiled."

"Yes, sir!" the soldier said. Jango looked over the soldier's shoulder to see that the other men in the room had collapsed on the floor unconscious. "Oh, HELL! How the fuck did this happen?"

"Not quite sure," Fullbody said. He didn't even look up from his paper. "Just get some more men in here and transport these folks up to their new homes. Sale's in five weeks, everyone! That should be enough time to break your spirits into those of good little slaves."

The door opened and more soldiers came in. Dan screamed and tried to run away. Rika had to order Tashigi to not attack the men leading her out of the door. It felt like a stone dropped in my stomach as I realized this was not going to go as planned. It was that instant, I felt, no, I knew, that I was never going to see Chimney and Thomas again, never going to meet my daughter, never going to get out of this alive.

* * *

Author's Notes

_I'll lay it on ya here: I'm actually a Jango fan. As far as villains from the East Blue are concerned, the man's pretty high on the list. It made me pretty sad to make him all bastard-y evil like that, but whatever. I also figured that Jango and Fullbody, despite never having the original chain of events to lead them towards one another would meet anyways; they're too much of soul brothers to NOT meet._


	58. Absence Makes

NOTES: So I had wanted to update this earlier, but then good ol' chapter 574 happened and I had to write a Zoro/Perona crack!fic for my own amusement that will probably never see the light of day in order for me to feel better. That, and my plate's filling up even quicker than I had hoped. School and other projects and all. ':D

REVIEWER THANKS: Rose-chan, who is awesome in more ways than any of you guys who don't review can imagine.

* * *

**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Piiman: _Absence Makes_

The morning sun was coming in through the high barred window when I woke up. It didn't give much light, so there were still torches going. I sat up against the stone wall and shivered. The night before had been awful. I had hoped that we would never see Jango and Fullbody and their men ever again, but it was just our luck that we walked right into their Grand Line base. I knew a couple of the soldiers from back on Syrup. I cringed at their stares, remembering what they wanted from me. It's what kept me from getting a good night's sleep, for sure.

"Cold?" Chabo asked. I looked next to me and saw that he was a few feet away. He and I were in the same cell as Paulie. Ninjin, Tamanegi and Kappa were in the cell next to us; I remembered that from last night. I could see Rika, Aisa, Moda and Tashigi were still sleeping across the hall, since the front of the cells were just bars. We were the only ones in that wing of the prison, since we were "special guests" that they didn't want to come into contact with other merchandise.

"Yeah," I said. Chabo seemed kinda worn, like he had been up all night. I think it was the seastone bracelets getting to him. "So what's been going on?"

"A whole lot of nothing," he answered. My eyes finally adjusted to the light and I saw that his face was stone-serious. I remembered he had a face like that in Drum when he almost killed Paulie. That face in Drum was the same one he had when he killed at Arlong Park.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of the heavy door at the end of the hall open and a squeaky-wheeled cart rolled in. I jumped to my feet and tried to see who, let alone, what it was.

"Get back!" Chabo whispered, following behind me. He grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the bars. "You don't know what those bastards are up to!"

"I just want to see," I replied. I was grateful for the little bit of movement the shackles gave me, for I took Chabo's hand off my arm. "Stop worrying. Since they planned on selling us, I'm pretty sure they aren't sending anyone to bring us harm." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the cart had stopped in front of our cell and a woman had her back towards us. I looked at her and saw she was preparing food trays. She must have been a slave instead of a soldier, since I saw pins holding together the fabric of her dress because it was that tattered and worn.

"It's food," I said. "Nothing to worry about."

Chabo was still tense and ready to duck or dodge or even throw the small rock that was on the ground next to him. The woman slid some tray underneath the bars of a cell across the way.

"Do you think we should wake up Paulie?" I asked.

"No… not yet," Chabo said. I really did hate him like this. It wasn't very Chabo-like, that was for sure. I watched as the woman putting out food put together some more trays with a bowl of what looked like gruel and a chunk of bread. She turned around, holding one of the trays and we both gasped.

No… it can't be.

I stood there, knees shaking. Long dark hair, green eyes, an olive complexion, a scar running down the left side of her face… she looked just like her… like a twin. Could it be?

"Yasai…?" I asked. Her eyes grew even wider as she dropped the tray on the floor, spilling the food across the floor.

"Piiman? Is that really you?" We both reached through the bars and began crying. She kept on feeling the stubble on my chin while I just touched her hair. I was so happy seeing her again.

"We thought you were sold off," I said, trying to keep myself from losing it. "How did you survive all this time? I thought you were…" I had to stop myself.

"…dead…?"

I nodded.

"No one wanted me, so I was brought here to Yuuenchi," she whispered. "I was devastated when I heard they wiped out Syrup. I thought you died that day Piiman."

"Piiman, who's this?" Chabo asked. I looked back over my shoulder to see he was pretty confused.

"This is Yasai," I explained. "She…"

"I love him," Yasai interrupted. Chabo looked even more confused. "I love him and I never thought I would see him again."

"She and I were both used by the Kuroneko Kaizokudan," I finished. "Yasai isn't from the same village as Ninjin, Tamanegi and I, but is from the same island."

"Are Ninjin and Tamanegi are with you too?" Yasai asked, her face now bright. "I remember the three of you were thick as thieves!"

"They're a little ways down," I said.

"Oh…! This makes me so happy!" Yasai replied. She went over towards the cell where Tamanegi and Ninjin were in and out of sight.

I looked over and saw that Chabo was looking blankly at me. It was kinda freaking me out. He blinked and kept on staring.

"You're extremely lucky" he said. "What are the odds that the woman bringing us food is an old friend from long ago?"

"Very small," I agreed. It was true… this was too perfect.

"Ninjin! Tamanegi!" Yasai said.

"What the…?" Oh, who might you be, my dear…?" It was Kappa… great. That was the last thing I needed—Kappa hitting on the girl I like right after running into her again.

"Please, get Ninjin and Tamanegi up for me!"

"Wake up Prick! Brute! A lady's waiting!" There was the soft thud of Kappa kicking my friends and the groans of them waking up.

"Ow… what was that fo… oh my goodness… Yasai…?"

"Tamanegi! Oh, I'm so glad to see you again!"

"Wait a second… I saw you get carted away to the market; I was the one that counted you! How in the world are you still with the Boss and living? Ninjin! Get up Ninjin! Piiman! Piiman!"

"Yes, yes, I know!" I laughed at the wall. I felt like crying and was glad that Kappa wasn't in the same cell as me.

"Captain! Captain! Captain, get up!" Chabo half-shouted at the girls' cell. Rika didn't move, so Chabo thought for a moment before saying "Food's here!"

Well, that always got Rika up, whether there was food or not. I was surprised though to see Tashigi pop up too.

"Where's the food…?" Rika asked. She saw the cart and almost began drooling at the sight of the gruel pot.

"Rika! I think we've got a way out of here!" I said. She looked at me all confused-like.

"With food?"

"No! My gods, are you retarded?" Tashigi growled. She seemed a lot less scary without her sword for some reason.

"What are you all screaming about…?" Paulie groaned. That's right! He was hit pretty hard on the head while they were trying to shove us in here. It wasn't working, since he was struggling so much, so they hit him on the head in order to knock him out.

"I know the girl who's bringing us food!" I told him. "Yasai and I were good friends from back at home!"

"Piiman!" Yasai said as she came back to the bars by our cell. She reached through and held out her hand. I took it, catching something that was hidden in her fist. It was a cord that had a little wooden charm attached. It was a rectangle with swirls carved into it. "I never did get to give this to you."

"What…?"

"I made it, but when I finished it, the soldiers took me away for market. I kept it, even after I didn't sell, because it helped me think about better days."

"You're pretty… I don't get it," Rika said. I looked over Yasai's shoulder and saw that Rika was staring at us, while Tashigi was waking up Moda and Aisa. "You should be far away from here, having escaped from your master because he was as dumb as he was ugly."

"I… I…"

"Damaged goods don't sell at market," Aisa said. She was looking at Yasai and me with those cold, creepy eyes she gets. "They way the both of you seem, neither of you would get out of here."

"H-How do you k-k-know that…?"

"Aisa just knows things," Rika smiled. "Hey, do you think you can help us out of here?"

"It's very risky," Yasai said. "I don't know if I could. Getting out of the cells is one thing, but getting off the island without being shot or recaptured is nearly impossible. Many people have tried it."

"Perfect records have to break sooner or later," Tamanegi said. "It's statistically impossible for a method to be foolproof."

"YASAI!" came a new voice from the hallway. It was large and booming and sent a chill down my body. "ARE YOU DONE IN THERE YET!"

"I dropped a tray, Germano-san!" Yasai called out. "I'm almost done!" She rushed over to the gruel pot and began dishing out our food as quickly as she could.

"There's a kid in level, six, I think it was," Paulie said, coming up to the bars. "His name is Dan. He has sort of a dirty-brown head of hair and is scraggly-looking. If you can, please tell him we're alright and for him to be strong."

"There was a rumor that there had been a young boy with you. Is he your son?" Paulie paused and took the tray she slid underneath the bars. It had a little extra food on it.

"In a way," he said. "We all take care of him. He was in Drum's prison."

"Oh no…! The poor dear!"

"The brat will be fine," Kappa groaned. "At least in a slaver's prison, they want to keep you alive. You didn't see what we dragged the kid out of."

"YASAI!"

"COMING, GERMANO-SAN!" Yasai quickly dished out the rest of the food and scurried to the cart again. "They switch serving people every day, keeping them in a six-person rotation that changes for every meal. I will get to see Dan tomorrow, and I will tell him that all of you are alright. Do not breathe a word of this to any of the other jailers and serving people. We could all get executed if they find out."

"What about you…?" I asked. She gave me a smile—it was one of the smiles she would give me after a long, horrible night.

"I will be fine. Just don't mention us to anyone and we shall be safe." She rolled the cart out to the hallway, where I could hear the loud voice scold her for taking so long.

"It looks like we have a change in plans," Tashigi said. I looked at the necklace still in my hand and smiled. It was going to be a good day. Well, as good as it was going to get.

* * *

Author's Notes

_It might take you a little while to remember Yasai, but I mentioned her way back in Chapter 26/27 "Memories Are Golden". Woah, I give Piiman really lame chapter titles. Poor thing… but I digress. Cripes, I've been neglecting the KHR fandom thanks to this. =/_


	59. Never Again

NOTES: Long chapter is long… almost as long as Long Cat. Well, no. Not that long, but still the longest yet. I need to start actually writing this again instead of just using prewritten chapters I have lying in wait.

REVIEWER THANKS: Solo Loco Ellingston Rose, who sparked this update due to a showing of sheer awesome.

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**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Aisa: _Never Again_

Damaged, damaged, beaten, bloody, used, damaged, pinned down, beaten—that's all I could feel in the woman that brought us food that first morning. Her aura felt so close to Piiman, as if they had bonded beyond all reason. For all what I could infer, she should have had every right to stay away from men as much as possible. It was incredible what these Blue Seas men were capable of. Never, had I imagined such cruelty from the likes of another human being. I thought myself for the rest of the day, silent and pensive, keeping the code of silence that the girl informed us to observe.

Sitting there in austerity, I was able to recall moments of the past as if it were the day before, since my mantra ability forces me to remember things—even if I try my hardest to forget. Sometimes, I rather wish I could forget, but it always comes back to me in a twisted sort of nightmare, causing me to toss and turn and at one time even fall out of a tree.

I was dead frozen in fright. Eneru was staring down at me, a disgusted look on his waxy-pale face. Anger filled up inside me for that ruddy bastard. He was, according to the tribe elder, the reason as to why we could never be at peace with the blasted Angel Islanders. He stood in our way, claiming to be a God. Since the Angel Islanders cowered like yellow-livered toads, the Shandian Tribe was all that was left to oppose him. I knew that Wiper was lying on the ground between us, his body a pile of smouldering flesh, only barely alive. He had stood in the way of an attack that had been meant for me and was defeated in a manner almost too childish for a descendant of the great warrior Calgara. I wanted to cry out in rage and charge in revenge, but all I could do was stare back at the man who could have very easily killed me. I gripped the handle to the waver tightly as I heard someone call out.

"Should we dispose of her Eneru-kami-sama?" I am sure it was one of those gits that called themselves his priests. I do not know which one said it though, since I was too chicken to move even a muscle.

"No," he said. He turned his back and sauntered off. I could just barely make out him finishing his statement in amusement. "I think I will be benevolent and allow her to live an hour longer." There was laughter, the flap of wings, the yip of a dog, a crack of thunder and then silence. When I was finally free from the spell, I was the only conscious person there. Wiper was not breathing and that old man with the lance and the tin can armour, he was dead for sure. I slowly stepped off the waver and crept over towards Wiper. His breath was so shallow that it should not have been called breathing. I tried not to cry.

"Aisa!" came a familiar voice. I spun around and saw my cousin Laki standing on the far side of the clearing. Next to her was a waver, the figure of Kamakiri slumped over on the seat, his Inner Voice barely audible. Laki ran over to me and scooped me up in her arms. She smelt of the forest and her skin was covered in shallow burns.

"Laki!" I choked. She held me close and I began to sniffle. She had always been like an elder sister, taking care of me and teaching me things and just being my best mate whenever I needed one. I felt better, until she put me down and began examining Wiper.

"He's badly hurt," she muttered. I watched as she took some things from the bag she had slung over her shoulder and began treating Wiper's burns. The bag was actually mine, and I had given it to Laki to get some dirt from Upper Yard, yet Laki still worked her magic. Our relatives had come from a long line of healers and warriors. When it had become apparent that neither of us, the only heirs to the bloodline, would become healers by profession, it had our immediate families crestfallen.

After a few minutes, Wiper released a heavy cough and opened his eyes. Laki perked up, eager to get Wiper out of there fast.

"Laki..." he said weakly.

"Shh... don't talk," she replied. "Just let me patch you up and we can get the rest of the survivors together..."

"No Laki," he ordered, grabbing her wrist. "Take Aisa and run. I don't want you going back to the village."

"Wiper!"

"Take her and run to the White Sea."

"I cannot leave you here!"

"The least we can do is make sure that Calgara's blood will survive," Wiper said firmly. Laki gasped and backed away, covering her mouth as her eyes welled up in tears. Wiper pained himself to right himself and stared grimly at the two of us.

Everyone in the village knew that Wiper was the legal and noble warrior-heir to Shandora's greatest leader, Calgara: the man who, along with a foreigner, totally altered and saved the livelihood of the tribe. After our land was thrust into the sky, he fought to his death protecting his home, which was eventually lost to the Angel Islanders and their pathetic excuse for a God. What was lesser known was that Laki and I were descended from Calgara as well. About three generations or so after Calgara, his heir not only had a son by legal means, but also had a mistress in the village healer who bore him a daughter. No one had detected the forbidden tryst, being he was a man on the equivalency of nobility whilst she was actually known for being rather loose with the men. The illegitimate daughter's siring was never questioned far enough for the villagers to put two and two together and after she grew into a fair beauty, a legal wife and an accomplished healer, the matter was frankly forgotten by the rest of the tribe gossips. Only our two branches knew of the secret as the years went by. It was an unwritten rule that the legal branch would never acknowledge the illegitimate one unless under a state of dire hopelessness, and Laki knew it. The gravity of the situation had struck a chord stronger than anything could have. Blood and pride are, to a Shandian, the entire reason we exist and to admit that either one of those things could be tainted is on the same level as high treason.

"What kind of a warrior would we be if we left you behind! Laki took Kamakiri, so how's taking you any different?" I snapped. Laki was still speechless. Wiper looked at me and frowned.

"Live, my cousin," he said. "I want you to be able to share the stories and legends of our people with others. Keep our heritage and blood alive."

Now, of course, I had not a clue as to what he was saying at the time. I was only a little brat then and the knowledge of our lineage was often a duty to be passed down from generation to generation upon the younger's sixteenth birthday. I watched as Wiper fell back to the ground and began gritting his teeth in self-loathing. He put his hand over his eyes and spoke for what might have been the last time.

"Go, now. Leave this place and never look back. Hurry, before that bastard finds and kills you both."

I stared at Wiper curiously. Laki was one of his best warriors, the greatest female warrior in our tribe for over a hundred and fifty years, and he was ordering her to retreat. I was perplexed. Wiper was not a man to give up, ever. He was too headstrong; too proud. Before I could even say a word in retaliation, I felt Laki pick me up from the ground and whisk me off on the waver she already had Kamakiri balanced on. I watched as Wiper's body disappeared when we entered the forest and how the forest disappeared as we went further and further away. We never stopped at the village. Had we done so, I am sure it would have killed us.

Laki was almost ready to exit the White-White Sea when there was a blinding flash of light and a resounding clap of thunder that caused her to stop the waver and turn around. I turned too and saw that there was a massive explosion, engulfing the entire cloud island that we and the Angel Islanders called home. My chest grew tight and I could barely breathe. So many life-forces were suddenly cut off from existence... the shock almost killed me. My head spun and the colours all around me became sharp and vivid. Laki thought quickly and began riding away. We were mere centimetres from the gate when we felt a rumbling in the sea and seemingly out of nowhere, the waver would not move forward. It instead moved backwards, dragging us along in a current of death. The hole where the island had once been was filling up with sea cloud and before either of us knew it, we had been dragged under the waves, sinking quickly in the soft white riptide.

Falling is a terrifying thing, especially for someone who had lived their entire life knowing they were living on a cloud. I knew from the rainwater that water often took on a soft blue hue when left alone, yet I could only see blue when Laki, Kamakiri and I fell through the bottom of the cloud sea. The vast expanse of brilliant sapphire struck me with both awe and fear. I clung to Laki tightly and closed my eyes shut.

"Hang on to Kamakiri, Aisa," I heard her hoarse voice call out, as if more than a few lengths away from me. "I do believe we are in luck."

I opened my eyes and looked down, just in time to see a speck of brown and white zoom up at us. The sound of Laki unsheathing her knife was barely audible as the thick air sped past my ears. I clung onto Kamakiri's waist just as Laki wrapped her arm around mine. We came to a jerking stop as Laki stabbed the sail of the ship with her blade, preventing us from splattering on the deck. There was only a small hole in the sail afterwards, being as Laki was careful to not run the knife blade from top to bottom. She slid down the sail and fell about six metres onto the deck of the ship before fainting from the air pressure. I stayed conscious long enough to see some men, and a rather beautiful woman, cautiously walk up to us. They asked me our names. I told them and before I could where we were from, my eyes rolled back into my head and everything went black.

A week had passed before I woke up again. By this time, my hands were bound in rope behind my back and I was lying in a dank, dark cell. I was all alone, from what I could tell. I could sense Laki in the level of the ship above me, our connection having always been strong due to our relationship. It took me a while to calm down, but once I did, I could sense that I was definitely not alone in the ship. Kamakiri's voice was still faint, but he was still able to be sensed. There were many others on the ship, holed away in the same level we were on. Most were scared, others were angry. A few of the voices were weaker than Kamakiri, weary from being in pain. It was night, as most of the people around me, and elsewhere in the ship, were sleeping.

"Kamakiri," I whispered, trying to crawl forward towards him. My progress was halted by another length of rope, securing me to the wall. "Kamakiri, where are we? What's going on?"

"Is that the name of the man you were brought down with?" asked a voice. I could barely see in the dim light, but I could just barely make out the figure of the woman sitting next to me. She was a large lady with a kind smile.

"Y-Yes," I stuttered, putting aside my pride for a child's humility. "Where are we? What is going on? Where are we going?"

"I knew there was something strange about you when you were first brought under. I didn't think we had docked yet. You obviously are new to this."

"New to what?"

"All of us on this ship that are tied up are prisoners," the woman said. "The war between the Revolutionaries and the Government as left us for dead."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "What about that arse Eneru! He and those Skypieans are the ones waging war!"

"Skypieans? Then it is true that you fell from the sky..."

That was when I realized that I was in over my head. It was not a nightmare, like I was wishing it was. The next few days brought Kamakiri's health back up near to normal and Laki finally joining the rest of us. The decorative wings from her back had been ripped off and she was covered in cuts and bruises. Somehow she still smiled for me. Her voice, her aura, felt different from before. I grew to know that sort of voice well; it was the voice of a woman forced into submission by the fists, whips and rods of men.

We were brought to a port and, while bound and helpless, washed, relieved of our wings and placed before an audience upon a crude stage. Not everyone went up on the same stage; some went in one direction, some went in another and some never made it off the ship alive, dying mid-route.

A man bought the three of us, along with some others. He had us branded with the Dragon's Hoof, a mark that was the very symbolism of our new sub-human status. Mine was placed on my upper arm, where I later had a steering wheel tattooed over it just like the one Wiper had. Kamakiri's was placed on his back and Laki's found her chest, painfully placed between her breasts. Our thoughts, our say, our free will, had been taken away and we were transported from the place with heavy hearts and seared skin.

Our final destination was an island in the South Blue. The man who had bought us ran half the town, where he had all sorts of bound labourers from every corner of the world working their lives to the bones. Not a one of us were the same, coming from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures prior to our enslavement. Laki was placed inside a brothel, while Kamakiri and I were put in the fields. We had to tend to the crops that would later be served in the restaurants and whorehouses and bathhouses that people from all over the sea came to visit. I was put to work planting and picking weeds from the soil. With his strong arms, Kamakiri operated tillers and hoes and shovels and pickaxes and scythes and just about anything else they placed into his hands. He always came back to the barracks with coursing pain throughout his body; the beating he had taken in Upper Yard had never quite left him.

Every morning, Kamakiri and I would see Laki come in the barracks as we were going out. She was so disgusted with herself that some days she would barely even look at us, ashamed of the treatment she was enduring. It pained us to see her in such a state, but there was little we could do. There was one day of the week we got off, where we were told to let the farm tools lay and the brothels close. It was on this day that we were allowed to be with Laki without fear of finding the cat-o-nine ripping off our backs or those firearms sending a bullet into our skulls. She told us of what they forced her to do, how it was to keep the men who watched us from killing Kamakiri and me in cold blood. She told us of Calgara's Heir and gave me instruction on healing. I learned to take the pain away from Kamakiri, so that the one day we got did not find him slipping into Death's embrace.

This continued uninterrupted for years; how many, I did not know. Some time after I had entered womanhood, a shock swept through the town. A group of the women that had been working the brothel had drank the liquefied root of a poisonous fern, killing themselves in a matter of seconds. Laki was amongst them, terminating herself and the unwanted life that had been growing inside her… a life almost old enough to have a voice of its own. I cried that night longer than I ever had before. Kamakiri held me and shushed me like a brother, although he too was unbelievably heartbroken. He had loved Laki and would have loved her child too even if it did not bear either of their faces. I became the last descendent of Calgara, the last in a great line of warriors and healers. We drew strength from one another, driving to live long enough to avenge Laki's death and usurp the powers that bound us so wretchedly.

We got our chance, but not until after a few years had passed. The entire slave population rose up and struck against our captors. Kamakiri was one of the leaders, despite the years of backbreaking labour hunching his shoulders and buckling his knees. Towards the end of the battle, I saw him fall to the ground and heard his Voice cry out into nothing. He died there, amongst the mud and the rain and the whores and their patrons.

I screamed.

After my throat was raw and the battle won, I went to the house of the man that had owned me and found where my satchel was after all those years. Dials and medical supplies were still in there. I raided the kitchen for provisions and fled the carnage, promising myself that I would never return to such a life again.

From there, I ran and never looked back. I decorated myself in the same manner that Wiper had been, at once to hide my branding and to remind myself constantly of what I had lost, so that I would never forget the stories or the people. Little did I know how steadfast my memory would become. Men tried to trick and force me into bondage again, but by then my mantra was too powerful for their weak minds. I got along the best I could, even if it meant a slit throat or a melted brain.

By the time the supper meal came that day in the prison, I had exhausted myself and knew that this life was not going to happen again. I treasure my freedom over most anything and the last thing I want is to become a bonded sub-human again. I would not wish that fate upon anyone. Dan is only a child; there is no limit to what he could be subjected to over the course of a lifespan. Tamanegi, Ninjin and Piiman, the clots that they are, already survived as I did. It had to be avoided at all cost.

* * *

Author's Notes

_While writing this, I felt very conflicted over how I had Kamakiri, Laki and Aisa treated upon their arrival to the Blue Seas. It's something not unlike the Middle Passage and the massive slave trade that occurred during the 1500-1800's between Africa and the Americas, but it also, hopefully (?), had some plain, old-fashioned bastardry that can happen in any culture. I sort of had to go :O though when I was writing this and remembered the Dragon's Hoof and that I could write it into being underneath Aisa's helm tattoo. Oda makes it both extremely difficult and extremely easy at the same goddamn time, ya know?_

_Oh, and now being able to spell-check just one section of a document with a British dictionary without turning the whole thing permanently British is a great thing. Yay for alternative spellings!_


	60. Useless

NOTES: So, uh, hi guys! I was actually going over some of the later chapters (because, yes, I am still working on this; I like to juggle a stupid amount of stories) and I found out that I totally MISSED AN ENTIRE CHAPTER. Like, seriously, how does someone miss an entire chapter? I have done it, apparently. So, if you really care, like I'm sure most of you don't because it's just fluff-filler-crap and only one person ever reviews these days, Chapter Fifty-Four is now different. I put this chapter up, too, as an apology.

Gawd, I suck.

REVIEWER THANKS: Rose-chan, because without her, I wouldn't be writing this anymore.

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**Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age**

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Moda: _Useless_

Every other day, Yasai-san came down and talked to us during breakfast. She was a really nice lady and really liked Piiman-san a lot. They looked real happy when with each other, which made me happy. Piiman-san was always so sad before, but he wasn't when Yasai-san was around.

Every day we saw her, we talked about what else was going on all over the island. She knew everything that happened and knew where just about everyone was. She even knew that Dan-kun was okay. He cried a bit when she told him she knew us, but that was it. He's such a brave boy. The only person she couldn't find was Tashigi-chan's uncle. Most of the people that went through Yuuenchi Isle were sold off as soon as possible, but there were some that stayed as Jango and Fullbody's personal prisoners. They were mostly old slaves, like Yasai-san, that were unable to be sold at a good price. Well, she wasn't very old, only about my age, but she still was kept to cook and serve food and clean. She was lucky, because some weren't even allowed to leave their cells. By the time a few weeks passed, Tashigi-chan admitted that our main priority was to escape and that her uncle was going to have to depend on luck.

After the third week, we knew that we were running out of time. Yasai-san had watched over the main jailer, Germano-san, and looked for a way to steal his keys without him knowing. He took a nap every day at around two in the afternoon, and that was when he hung his keys up on a hook next to his cot. At night, he put them on the same hook, but left for an actual bed just inside a nearby door. We decided that this would be the best time to take the keys and escape. It would be on a day when she wasn't scheduled to serve us, so that we could go over any last-minute changes the day before. It made me scared thinking about it.

Finally, the day came when we were going to break out. We all got up very early in the morning and waited patiently. I was so scared, but Rika's grin made everything okay. It was so dark that I could barely see, even with the torchlight. Oh, it was scary.

We all jumped when the door to the hallway opened. Yasai came in on her tiptoes, leaving the door open only enough so that she could get through. The keys were shiny in her hands as she ran over to the cell with Piiman-san in it.

"We don't have long," she said. With the amount of time it was taking, I knew she must have been trying a lot of different keys because she didn't know which one went to the lock.

"Just calm down Yasai," Piiman-san said. He reached through the bars and put his hands on her shoulders. I couldn't see that well, but I had a feeling he might have kissed her because of the way Paulie-san rolled his eyes and put his hand on his face. I'm so glad that Piiman-san has someone like that.

Yasai-san began trying out keys again and I heard Aisa-sensei gasp.

"Yasai!" she whispered. "Hide yourself!" Yasai-san turned around and took a step towards us, wanting to know what Aisa-sensei said, but some shiny things went through the air and she fell down in the middle of the hallway.

I screamed, and I think Piiman-san did too. There were these circle things sticking out of Yasai-san as she was on the ground. Her eyes were wide. I heard footsteps and the man with the heart-shaped sunglasses that put us in the prison walked to where Yasai-san was.

"I thought you might do something like this," he said, taking the circle things out of Yasai-san. My stomach felt sick as he did so. "Fullbody and I aren't idiots." He kicked Yasai-san hard in the stomach, making her slide down the hall a few feet. Rika-san went up to the bars and began yelling bad words at the man. I just stopped hearing. It was all too horrible. He looked at us and said something. Aisa-sensei and Tashigi-chan got angry too. I just had to sit down and hold my head.

No. Don't be scared. No. Don't be scared. No, you shouldn't be scared. Rika-san is here to protect me. Aisa-san will protect me. Tashigi-chan will protect me. Paulie-san and Chabo-san and Kappa-san and Ninjin-san and Piiman-san and Tamanegi-san… they're all here. I'm fine. We are fine. No. We are not fine. No. No. No… Ace-san! Where are you, Ace-san!

I laid down on the stone floor and cried, because that's all I'm good for now. I should have gone with Ace-san. No… I would have slowed him down. I can't fight or do anything other than cook and clean and take care of some cows. They're going to sell me and I'll never see Ace-san again.

I just laid there and cried.

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Author's Notes

_Yeah, I'm kinda useless, like Moda. :D_


End file.
